The Wisdom of Snow
by Garasu
Summary: A new woman enters the life of Keitaro and everything is thrown upside down. Promises will be broken, changes will be needed and at the center of it all, one man and his heart can make all the difference. Part 2, Chapter 2
1. Part 1, Chapter 1

**_A note from the author: _**_Hello everyone and welcome to my first submission for the 2005 year. It has been a while since I last placed anything on this site, I admit, and I have been working on this story for the past several months, trying to make it as good as possible. This story was actually meant as a one shot…long ago when it was just in the planning stages but now it has become so much greater than that. I only hope I can keep up with where my imagination is now taking me with this. But, all nervousness aside here is the first chapter. Please enjoy, all standard disclaimers apply._

**The Wisdom of Snow**

**Part 1, Chapter 1**

**Author: Garasu**

_Swish_

_598…_

_Swish_

_599…_

_Swish_

_600…_

Motoko paused briefly in her regimen, glancing about her briefly with a strange feeling suddenly that someone was watching her. Her raven black hair and bright red hakama flitted about her in the cold breeze but the frigid air did not bother her overly much. She slowly sheathed Shisui, her sword, and turned about brushing a wayward strand of silky hair from her olivine eyes with a carelessly graceful hand as she searched for the source of her distraction. Finding nothing immediately apparent the swordswoman turned about to face her original direction and made to begin again, annoyed somewhat that the brief sense of paranoia had made her stop practicing.

Day in and day out she practiced much like this every morning. She sacrificed everything to be the fitting image of a warrior. Her grades were average at best when it concerned her favorite subjects of history and literature but just barely above the acceptable grade when it came to science and mathematics. To her, however, these were mere trifles to be ignored. School was something she did because it was required of her to do so and it never became much more than that. Her social life didn't exist, she was a warrior, what did a noble spirit such as her self need concern with such things as dates and men?

_Men._ Motoko almost spit the word within her mind. The only men worthy of her regard were long dead and carried such noble names as Miyamoto and Muso. Never had she met an honorable man in these times and she doubted she ever would.

_Except…_

Motoko mentally started as her subconscious brought up the very exception to the rule. _Him_.

But he could not be such an exception, she told herself. She shook her head in disagreement with what that foreign object known as her heart told her. He was constantly messing up. Everyday she could name almost a dozen incidents that he gets involved in that could be defined as perverted. Though she was willing to admit that he was anything but graceful, and that accidents do happen. But to happen with the frequency that that they did around him? Motoko wouldn't have been too surprised to discover that some spiteful person or demon had put a curse around him.

She sighed, and then dropped into a seated position realizing that she was destined to get no more practice this morning. The contradictions that Keitaro Urashima set off in her mind were of sufficient magnitude that once her mind set about contemplating them, nothing else could be done about it. Though she could not figure out just what about the young man set her on edge. Everything about her world had insisted that she ignore the ronin and be done with it. Yet… yet it seemed as if something was there, lying dormant within her heart that responded to his kind hearted ways.

Motoko suddenly shivered, finding both her thoughts disturbing and that the cold was only ignorable when she was practicing. Truth be told, her sensitive nose and sharp instincts told her that it just might snow later on. The bright, clear morning was beginning to give way to afternoon, and with it grey clouds were silently making themselves known, covering the sun and instantly reducing the amount of light that shown on the wooden sun deck she practiced upon.

The young swordswoman gracefully rose from her position and made to turn towards the door and ultimately her room to change but something caught her eye just as she was about to turn. As she edged close to the raised guard-rail, her sharp eyes caught the glimpse of short brown hair and plain, yet practical clothing. Her mind immediately deduced that it was Keitaro, though what he would be doing wandering through the central gardens and heading for the forests that bounded the inn at this time of day was lost upon her.

She watched the young man continue on, unaware that she was regarding him and finally disappear around a corner before she allowed herself to blink.

_Strange,_ she thought, as she continued to watch the spot where Keitaro disappeared for a few more moments. _This close to lunch, Urashima would not be going anywhere too far. _Motoko shook her head, clearing the train of thoughts that had entered her head. Since when had Keitaro's business been hers to wonder about? She bid her mind to forget what she had just seen before turning around and heading to her room. If she hurried she would be able to sit down at the table just before Shinobu called everyone to lunch.

True to her prediction, the resident cook was just beginning to set the places for lunch when Motoko arrived, dressed in a slightly thicker, more comfortable keiko and hakama that warded against the chill air that was the hallmark of the cusp of winter.

"Oh, good afternoon, Motoko," the young girl greeted the entering swordswoman, a brief smile alighting on her innocent face. Motoko spared a small smile at the young girl, marveling at just how much Shinobu had changed since she had first set foot within the halls of Hinata Inn.

"Good afternoon, Shinobu." She returned amiably, her voice a tad softer than she typically used. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Shinobu paused for a moment before shaking her head, letting the soft bluish hair dance about her head and set down the last plate she had in her hands. "No, I have everything down and set, but could you let people know that lunch is ready?"

"No need," a new voice came from the entranceway and the pair looked over to see Kitsune leading the other two girls in the room. "We could smell the food from a mile away." A moment later everyone was seated in their places ready to enjoy the wonderfully smelling food set before them. An event that was inevitably delayed when Shinobu shyly spoke up from her end of the table, her high, shy voice somehow managing to reach above the light din of conversation that was taking place at the table.

"Umm, where is Keitaro?" She asked, making everyone pause and look at the spot that the manager usually took at the dining table. Slowly, most of the girl's eyes widened as they realized that this was the first time that they had realized he was missing. Their gazes then took turns matching their other table-mates' until it was determined that no one had in fact seen him all morning. It was then that Motoko cleared her voice and spared all the girls a look as their stares suddenly fell upon her.

"I believe I saw him heading towards the grounds forest behind the inn right before I came down to change," she spoke curtly, offering none of her thoughts as to why he would be heading in that direction. Her comment then caused a brief flurry of conversation around the table that caused the young woman to frown slightly at the noise generated.

"Why would he be heading there?" Kitsune asked, her finger going to her chin in a classic imitation of a thinking pose.

"Who cares? He knows when lunch is, and that it is his responsibility to keep track of time himself." This came from Naru, as she frowned severely and crossed her arms across her ample chest.

"Oho! Had a fight with the lover again, did we?" Kitsune returned, her mischievous smile showing full force and she leaned her elbows on the table ready to her all the gory details of the so called lover's quarrel.

"As if!" Naru spat, slamming her hands down on the table hard enough to cause every one else to jump slightly.

"I wonder if maybe he was not hungry?" Su put in thoughtfully, staring at the food that was in front of her as if she hadn't eaten in days and was just placed before a royal feast. "That leaves more for me!" But just as the young blonde foreigner was about to spoon an extra helping onto her plate, Shinobu snatched the bowl from under her hands and protected it as if her life depended upon its contents.

"NO…I mean, no, you can't have them Su. I'm sure Sempai just lost track of time and that he'll be back in a little bit looking for something to eat. I'd better save him some just in case."

Su momentarily looked disappointed that she had been deprived her extra helping but seemed to shrug it off quickly enough. "That means we can eat without waiting right?" She asked plaintively a moment later, beginning to drool at the mouth.

"Yes," Shinobu sighed, beginning to eat her portions quietly to back up her statement. But the ever-present worry never disappeared off of her face. A fact that wasn't lost upon Naru.

"Don't worry so much about that old pervert, Shinobu. He always makes his way back for food sometime. Like a trained pet or something." The elder girl placed a consoling hand upon her shoulder.

"Umm, yeah, I guess…" Shinobu trailed off uncertainly, not sure whether the comment was actually meant to console her or if Naru was just taking another shot at her favorite target. It seemed that the Tokyo University aspirant was always full of quick-witted insults for the resident male.

"In other words, let's not worry our silly heads over this and get down to eating before it gets cold." Kitsune piped up, which immediately eased the nervous tension building between the dorm mates. Everyone smiled for a brief instant at the fox's enthusiasm, except Su who was too busy finishing her plate to listen to the conversation, and they all turned as one to lighter topics that did not concern a certain male nor his supposed location.

One such topic was the weather, which had taken a turn for the worst in what had so far been a mild December.

"You know, I think it's supposed to snow later on today," Naru said offhandedly, in response to an idle comment about how cold it had gotten lately.

"Really?" Shinobu asked wondrously. She loved it during those times it snowed, and to have it snow this early in the winter was truly a special event.

"Mm, that's what the weather man said this morning," the brunette affirmed before bending down to finish off her portion of rice. "I was watching a bit of the news while I was reviewing what I went over last night."

"Certainly looks like snow, what with all the clouds and stuff," Kitsune added. Having finished her lunch she made to get up once she finished her comment. "But that means I'd better get a few things done before the white stuff comes. The food was delicious as always Shinobu. See you all around."

As if that was a signal for everyone else to finish their food and go on with the rest of the day, one by one each of the girls got up and took their dishes to the sink and left the kitchen area. Naru left upstairs to prepare for Keitaro's arrival as he always came up for a joint study session in the afternoon along with their newest study partner Mutsumi, who would be arriving shortly. Su was off like a bullet shot from a gun, running upstairs to her room to do what only the gods knew. Finally, Motoko got up to go to her room and finish a little bit of homework herself before going back to school tomorrow. Despite their different activities, however, one thing was on all of the girls' minds and that was just what had happened to their manager over lunch?

-

"Oh come on, sweetie, I know you can do better than that," Kitsune cooed, staring the young man directly in the eye, making him begin to sweat lightly. The Fox was bearing all her considerable charms to bear on the man before her and she was very pleased to know that they were beginning to work.

"I…I'm sorry, Ms. Kono, but one to three is the best I can give you. My boss would kill me if I gave you better odds." The young man was beginning to sweat profusely now, as Kitsune leaned further over and let him have a good look down her ample chest.

"But one to three is just not a good payoff, see." Kitsune began to circle her finger on the table idly, knowing that she had his attention she began to press her advantage with her sweet and innocent act. "I need something a little more surefire and a little bigger payoff, you know? I've got so many things to buy this month and it's hard for little ole' me to afford all the monthly expenses." She flashed her best smile, willing all of her considerable charm to practically ooze off of her body. Finally, she saw what she was looking for.

_Bingo!_ She thought as the young man caved and heaved a heavy sigh. Silently he urged her forward and began looking around to see if anyone else was close enough to hear.

"Look for the number five in the sixth race. He's one and six but word is he's been off the circuit for a while and has been doing the best times on the track during practice runs. But nobody is supposed to know about that outside of the circle. If the boss finds out I've been talking it's my head," he whispered urgently, putting a special emphasis on the last sentence to import the serious nature of the subject.

"No one will ever know, sweetie, you're the best." Kitsune leaned over and gave the young man gentle kiss on the lips before pulling away. Clearing her throat, she added a little louder, " Oh, you're so sweet! But I'll have to think about that date, young man. I'll get back to you." Just for good measure she added a wink, further intensifying the young man's blush.

"Put me down for the tip sweetie, the usual price. I'll make sure you get a good reward for this," she added under her breath before walking off towards the door. As she exited the door she pumped her fist in victory. "All right, another one in the bank! This payoff should last me for a while."

Just as she finished her statement, something…rather someone caught her eye. She ducked around the nearest corner and peered out after a few moments. She instantly recognized the short brown hair and glasses and he was wearing one of his always-recognizable bland outfits again. Keitaro was walking across the street from her, occasionally looking into the shop windows that he passed giving no indication that he saw her. _Wonder what he's doing out here? _ She wondered briefly and toyed with the notion of calling out to him. Deciding that she did not have to hide from him she would go over and ask just where he was this afternoon for lunch, if only to make him feel guilty for skipping out on them without telling them. Heck, maybe she could even get something out of this if she played her cards right. A slow wicked smile crept across the fox's face as she left her hiding spot and began to cross the street.

"Hey, Keitar…whoa!" Kitsune dove back into a hiding spot the moment she called out his name, for just as she said it, someone else came up to his side and grabbed his arms in an intimate pose. A moment later she peeked out again and wondered at the sight before her eyes. A girl was attached to Keitaro's arm in a loving fashion, a gesture he did not seem to mind and even returned with his own unobtrusive affection. Kitsune supposed that that wasn't too bad as far as things went, but the fact that really got her over the edge was that the girl was drop dead gorgeous.

_Is she a freaking model or something?_ Kitsune wondered, staring with open-mouthed awe at the girl. She was about as tall as Keitaro with snow-white skin and she walked with a grace that was far and above what a normal Japanese woman would walk unless she was before the emperor himself. As if that wasn't enough, she was wearing a pure white kimono that looked way too expensive for everyday attire, in fact there didn't seem to be a drop of color other than white on her except for the exquisitely designed silver lattices that graced the kimono. Though Kitsune could not see the girl's face from her vantage point she could tell that the girl's hair was a beautiful silver that shimmered in the weak afternoon light as if it had a light of its own and was tied up in an expansive knot that rested majestically on the top of her head and just barely let a small braided strand fall down her back.

With those looks, it was no wonder that every male that the couple passed couldn't help but stop and stare at her. Kitsune had to admit that if it were her passing them by she would have to stop and stare as well. _The others are not going to believe this when I tell them! Keitaro, our perverted Keitaro is on a date with a foreign model! So that's why he was sneaking off this morning. Shit, I have to have someone else here just to tell me I'm not seeing things._

Kitsune stayed just long enough to watch as they entered a restaurant before she ran from her hiding place and tore off as fast as she could back to Hinata. As she took the steps two at a time she wondered just how Naru was going to take this. Was she going to shrug it off and deny her feelings once again or now that she actually seemed to have some competition was she going to finally break down her barriers? _Well only one way to find out…I must…find…Naru!_

Several moments later Kitsune was tearing her way through Hinata Inn trying to find the brunette. On a whim, she figured that the girl was still in her room studying, as she was not in the baths yet. Her whim proved correct when she forced the shoji door open with enough force to send the door bouncing back halfway towards her. She ignored the open eyed stare that Naru was giving her, as well as the blank one that her study partner, Mutsumi, was directing her way as she fought to regain enough breath to get her message out.

"Naru…must…come…Keitaro," she muttered hoarsely, pointing at the same time the way down the hall. Naru actually managed to look worried until Kitsune mentioned the name of their wayward manager. Her facial expression immediately darkened and her mouth turned down into a fierce frown.

"Kitsune, whatever you have to say about that pervert can wait, I'm a little busy right now." She turned around, not giving Kitsune enough time to answer. Then and there the foxy lady knew it was going to be one of those troubled times. Though she did notice with interest that the mention of Keitaro seemed to perk the turtle girl up.

"Oh my, what about Kei?" The beautiful girl asked, giving Kitsune all of her rather flighty attention. The older girl held up a finger for a moment so she could catch her breath.

"Mutsumi, don't waste your time on that stupid pervert. Obviously he had something more important to do than to study with us. It's his grade after all." Naru spoke up, trying to direct the turtle lady's attention back to the math equations they were working on before Kitsune barged in.

"But what if Kei is hurt?" Mutsumi asked, obviously wanting to know just what Kitsune had to say.

Is Keitaro hurt?" Naru asked her best friend directly, turning just long enough to see her shake her head in the negative. "There, you see? It's nothing important then. Come on, unlike some people we have work to do."

"But…" Kitsune was interrupted when Naru whipped her head around and directed an angry stare at the elder girl.

"That's enough Kitsune, you're bothering us. You can tell us all about it later." She said with a definite finality to her voice.

"But…" Kitsune tried again, but was interrupted yet another time.

"I said good bye, Kitsune." Naru spat, making a shooing motion with her hands before turning back to her books.

Kitsune turned to Mutsumi for an appeal but only received an enigmatic shrug from the girl before she turned around and began studying herself. _Great, well that definitely didn't go as planned._ She turned around and closed the door quietly with a stunned expression on her face. _I still need someone to go with me just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, but the only one still in the house that wouldn't make a scene is…_ Kitsune sighed. This wasn't going to be a pleasant mission. A moment later she was standing in front of Motoko's room, debating upon whether or not she should knock.

Finally Kitsune made up a plan and with a determination that only went skin deep, she knocked on the door.

"Yes, please enter." The soft reply came immediately after her knock and Kitsune shoved the door open and crossed over to the kendoka as quickly as possible.

"Motoko, come with me," she said shortly and never gave the confused girl a chance to answer before grabbing her hand and dragging her towards the door.

"Kitsune, what is the meaning of this? Where are you taking me?" Motoko kept up the line of questioning as she was forced downstairs and towards the outside door. When they arrived at the porch, Kitsune gestured that the kendo girl should put on her shoes. Once she did so, with even more confused glances sent Kitsune's way, she began asking questions again. "Where are you taking me, Kitsune? I demand to know."

Kitsune, however, said nothing. Merely held the other girl's hand in a death grip that allowed for no escape and dragged her along. Finally after what seemed an eternity, the pair reached the restaurant that she had seen Keitaro and the girl enter earlier and pointed at the window before giving enough room for Motoko to look in.

"There, what do you see?" She asked, stabbing a finger at the glass. Motoko diligently followed her finger and blinked several times, not really understanding what Kitsune was trying to tell her.

"I see people eating lunch," she responded shortly after that, looking at Kitsune as if she had lost her mind. "Now, if this is all you called me out her for, I have more important matters to attend to, good day." Motoko made to leave but stopped short when Kitsune grabbed her arm and turned her around forcefully.

"Look again, do you see anyone in there that you know?"

Motoko looked again, not really seeing anyone that she knew until her eyes fell upon a familiar head of brown hair that also happened to be wearing the same thing she saw Keitaro wearing earlier that day. He had his back to the window, which explained why she had missed him the first time, but it was definitely their wayward manager. Though for the life of her she could not figure out why Keitaro eating in a restaurant got Kitsune in such a mood. It was certainly within his right to do so, even if it was rude not to inform anybody of his whereabouts.

"I see Urashima," she amended, turning to Kitsune with a puzzled expression on her face. "Certainly this is not what has you in such a mood is it? It's perfectly reasonable for Urashima to be eating lunch in town, especially if he was conducting business. Though I dislike the fact that he told nobody and made Shinobu worry, it is his right to do so and it shall be dealt with appropriately when he gets home."

"Once again you miss the obvious," Kitsune returned, making Motoko sigh in annoyance. "Do you happen to see who Keitaro is **with**?"

Motoko turned once again to the window and her eyes automatically found the spot where Keitaro was sitting. Then her eyes widened suddenly as he shifted and gave her a perfect vantage point to look directly across from him. Slowly her mouth fell open as she took in the beauty of the woman that sat across from Keitaro. One look at Kitsune and the elder girl nodded, knowing that now Motoko was just as intrigued as she was.

"My point exactly," Kitsune nodded, turning back to stare through the window with Motoko. "What the heck have we missed out on?"

Motoko shook her head slowly. There must be some logical explanation for Keitaro being alone with a beautiful woman, but for the life of her she could not think of a single thing. Suddenly she shivered violently and her eyes locked onto the strange girl's own eyes. Olivine met steel grey in a staring match that was difficult to tear away from. Slowly, her senses were triggered and she began getting a small prickly feeling at the back of her neck. Her eyes widened further as her senses told her that there was something strange about the girl before her, but before she could identify it, the girl narrowed her eyes and shook her head so minutely that only Motoko could see it. Before she knew it, the strange sense was gone, replaced by a normal aura and the staring contest was over, with the girl going back to a pleasant seeming conversation with Keitaro.

"…toko? Motoko?" The kendo girl blinked suddenly as she realized that Kitsune was shaking her. The elder girl gave her a questioning look but only received a shrug in response.

"It was nothing," Motoko responded a moment latter, brushing off Kitsune's touch. "What business of ours is it to spy on Urashima?" She asked, turning around and heading back to Hinata with a confused Kitsune following her. Thinking back to that strange feeling she got when looking into the girl's eyes, Motoko realized that she had a lot to think about once she got home, and not just concerning Keitaro's newfound social life. Silently, she quickened her pace, leaving Kitsune behind. Yes, she had much to think about indeed.

-

_Damn you Urashima, what have you gotten yourself into now?_ Motoko thought viciously as she circled her room for what seemed like the twentieth time. The events of the early afternoon played in her mind over and over again and try as she might she could not recall anything that was out of place about the girl except that faint and fleeting feeling that her senses touched off. But that could be triggered by anything when it was of the magnitude that she felt. The girl could have been just another martial artist like herself, responding to the presence of another strong spirit or she could be any number of other spiritually aware beings ranging from a demon to a priestess. Personally, she rather doubted a demon would take any interest in Keitaro, but then again to her senses it was equally unlikely that **any** girl would take interest in him.

"I'm home!"

Motoko perked up at the sound of Keitaro's voice, coming from the doorway downstairs. She knew that Kitsune was thinking the same thing as she opened her door and began walking downstairs and that was that it was time to get some answers. When both girls came into the common room at the same time and Kitsune took the lead, Motoko resolved the let the foxy lady handle most of the questions as she would probably be best at drawing any information out of the young man. She, on the other hand, would merely observe his reactions and determine just what exactly was the truth and what was a lie.

A sudden thought came unbidden to her mind just then though as to just why she was so interested in finding out about this mysterious girl. Her obstinate mind told her that it was merely idle curiosity that was touched off by the brief flaring of her instincts but that foreign object known as her heart whispered through her thick walls that maybe it could be something else as well.

To her credit, Motoko hid her blush well behind a severe frown as the grilling from Kitsune began.

"So, Keitaro my boy," Kitsune started off, circling the poor ronin as if she were a shark about to bite into a nice juicy tidbit. And to be sure, that was most likely what it was, Motoko told herself, as she watched the event unfold. Kitsune was most aptly described as a shark when it came to potentially damaging information: she could smell even a hint of it a mile away. The kendoka brought herself back to attention as Kitsune continued to talk after a long, pregnant pause.

"We missed you at lunch today…not too often that our little Shinobu has to deal without serving her 'sempai.'" Kitsune sniggered at the thought. The only one not aware of the girl's raging crush was the man the girl's crush set itself to, the very ronin before her.

"Yeah, I had some business to attend to, unfortunately," he replied shortly, giving a small smile in return.

Motoko raised her eyebrows slightly at the response, and even more so to the ronin's physical reaction. To his credit he was remaining quite calm considering he had to know that Kitsune was after something. After all, she was grinning like the proverbial cat that ate the canary. Though the pretty lush continued on with her interrogation as if barely noticing Keitaro's calm.

"Mmm, yes, you must be quite hungry then. After all, you barely had any breakfast this morning either." Kitsune's smile widened, if that were all possible and she skipped her fingers flirtingly up Keitaro's arm. Motoko had to bite back a small smirk when Keitaro caught on and began to fidget, though it was his next comment which slightly surprised both women.

"Oh, man! I forgot to tell Shinobu about that!" He smacked his head loudly with the palm of his hand. Both women started with his answer, expecting him to become nervous about Kitsune inquiring further about his lunch date, and not worry about whether or not he told Shinobu about his plans for lunch. Kitsune at that point had to blink to recompose herself and get back on track.

"Ah, an afterthought, I'm sure. It was no big deal. We all just figured that you had some business to get done and just forgot," the young woman covered well, taking only five seconds for her grin to return and the circling to begin again.

"Anything else happen, while you were out?" Kitsune asked a little bit too eagerly, jumping into the opening with all her wit backing her up. Keitaro at this point blinked and struck a pose that suggested he was thinking about the answer.

"No, not really. Lunch was okay I suppose, not the best food I've had but I haven't been out to eat in a while and I must admit nothing beats Shinobu's cooking!" He exclaimed a second later, laughing softly at the praise that the target girl wasn't even around to receive. "But you will have to excuse me," he finished up and made to walk around Kitsune who was now becoming a little desperate to fish the answer out of the strangely calm Keitaro. "I still feel like I must apologize to Shinobu, even if you insist that everything was okay."

He turned to Motoko as if he had just noticed her presence. "Oh, hey, Motoko. I almost didn't see you there. I hope you are having a good day?"

Motoko merely nodded, equally held back by the strange attitude of their manager.

"That's good to hear!" He replied brightly, walking past her and on his way to the kitchen.

"Okaay, what just happened here?" Kitsune asked of the kendo girl a moment later, as soon as she was sure that Keitaro was out of earshot.

"I am not sure, " Motoko murmured her response, still not quite feeling right about her lack of reaction to the bubbly mood of the resident manager. Shouldn't she be drawing her sword on him by now for even daring to address her in such a manner? The fact that she could only muster a simple nod to his sunny façade deeply disturbed her. Distracted as she was in mulling over the problem she now faced she was unaware of Naru walking up beside her and trying to get her attention.

"What's with Motoko all of a sudden?" She whispered to Kitsune after a few moments of waiting patiently for the swordswoman to acknowledge her presence, all for naught.

"I guess her brain got fried over Keitaro's sudden strange behavior," the fox mulled aloud, turning to Naru and shrugging a second later. "Have to admit, kinda freaked me out too. You should have seen it, he shrugged me off as if it were nothing and passed by Motoko with a bright smile on his face instead of giving her a wide berth as he usually does."

Naru pondered that tidbit of information for a moment before carefully asking her next question.

"What do you think has him so happy?" She asked, trying to sound as if it was just curiosity. Fortunately for her, while not as distracted as Motoko currently was, the dirty blonde was a little off her pace due to Keitaro's unusual behavior and did not pursue the question beyond merely answering it.

"Motoko and I tailed him this afternoon at lunch and we found him eating lunch with some foreign model. It was really freaky. Motoko suddenly stiffened up and began acting just like she is now."

"Lunch, foreign model?" Naru managed to sputter out, not expecting that answer in the least. Suddenly all of her feigned disinterest left in blur and she was all ears to her best friend.

"Yeah, she was a looker I don't mind saying." Kitsune struck a pose as if she were trying to remember every last detail about the encounter so she could relay it to her friend. "Had to be foreign with that wavy platinum hair and gray eyes of hers. Yet she was wearing a really fancy kimono just walking around as if she wore them everyday. It looked really old and really expensive and I don't know anyone who could afford antique looking clothing like that except a model. Especially to wear on simple little lunch dates."

"D…Date?" Naru could almost barely get the word out, as it was she still ended up sounding shell-shocked. At the same time, though, the rational, more skeptic side of her kicked in and she really wondered if Kitsune was just putting an extra spin on things to get her to bite. "Come on, Kitsune," she continued a moment later, allowing her heart rate to slow and let her natural pessimism towards Keitaro take control. "I doubt it was a date or anything. This is Keitaro we're talking about here! That pervert couldn't get a date if he paid someone to go out with him. You probably just saw her sitting next to him in a restaurant or near him and jumped to conclusions."

"Yeah, like I imagined her walking arm and arm with him as if that was the most natural thing in the world, too," Kitsune shot back. "Like it or not girl, this is a full fledged emergency. Seems like he's upgraded to someone else to me. I don't know, Naru, maybe you just might have pushed him away for the last time."

Kitsune's tone took on a slight pitying tone with respect to her last comment. Pretty much everyone at Hinata new about Keitaro's infatuation with Naru and could only marvel at the things he went through to be with her. But as much as she hated to admit it, it looked like even Keitaro had his breaking point and that he went sailing past it sometime when Naru wasn't looking.

It was at this time that Motoko woke up from her strange trance-like state with a massive body shudder. Whatever she was thinking, Kitsune judged it must have been really disturbing. But then again, an unaffectable Keitaro was really something to be worried over, how else would she be able to get her weekly ration of sake money?

"Well, we'll just see what's going on at dinner when I ask him directly," Naru muttered and walked off in a slight huff.

"Did I miss something?" Motoko added, looking at Kitsune in askance.

"Just a prelude to something unpleasant maybe," Kitsune said quietly, staring at the spot where Naru disappeared, deep in thought about what would happen at Hinata in just a few hours.

"Oh."

-

That night for the first time in a long time, dinner was a quiet affair as those who knew of Keitaro's strange behavior that afternoon kept glancing over to Naru waiting for the young woman to act. Those who didn't know of the drama unfolding about them kept silent merely because the tension in the room could be felt at the tangible level. It was daunting enough that even Su was curiously subdued.

"Can you pass the soy sauce please?" Everyone jumped for a second, caught off guard by the lone male of the house suddenly speaking up. As one they all stared at him blankly for a moment, enough that Keitaro finally had to take notice.

"What?" He asked curiously, rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand just to make sure there was nothing on it that was causing all the attention to be diverted to him suddenly.

"So Keitaro," Naru started, passing the soy sauce in an almost innocent manner. Most who knew her, though, also knew the look in her eye. She was after something and she wouldn't rest until she got it. Upon recognizing that look Kitsune was just about ready to run and grab the old army helmet she had stashed in her room and Motoko suddenly felt a strange urge to let her right hand fall to where her sword was resting against the table. "Did you enjoy your little lunch date today?"

Kitsune nearly face-faulted at Naru's directness. But then again, when it came to Keitaro, the girl was never one to mince words.

A small gasp was uttered into the ensuing silence that was probably uttered by Shinobu but nobody really paid attention as all of their attention was squarely upon one young man holding a bottle of soy sauce. It seemed like the calm impassive nature he had developed this afternoon was gone and he was suddenly back to the old Keitaro again because he started sweating slightly and began hedging around for an answer.

"Umm..well, I guess..uh, I wouldn't call it a date, really," he uttered finally, looking down at his dinner before him, not really willing to look Naru in the eye.

"Oh, then what would you call it? According to Kitsune it looked like you two were pretty chummy." Naru asked casually, for all appearances looking like she was merely inquiring about the weather.

_Oh great, way to bring my name into the equation._ Kitsune thought as Keitaro turned his stare towards her.

"You followed me this afternoon?" He asked, looking a little upset at that fact. Or at least as upset as Keitaro could get.

"Well, not followed really. I just happened to be in the area and when I saw you. I tried to call out to you and then saw your date… well, let's just say curiosity kicked in." Kitsune shrugged, bringing her trusty smile into play, hoping to downplay her involvement by relying on the fact that following and meddling was what she **usually** did anyway. Fortunately it seemed to be enough as Keitaro shrugged and struck a thinking pose.

"Oh, I guess Yuki did mentioned the fact that two people were staring at her this afternoon at lunch. But she said two, who was the other person with you?" Keitaro was oblivious enough to Motoko's sudden blush and down turned eyes that he didn't immediately put the facts together before Naru seized upon the added fact.

"Oh, so her name is Yuki, hmm? How nice. Did you finally break down and find a computer dating service that would accept you?" Naru asked politely. Or it would have been politely if it hadn't been for the barb she added in.

_Ouch._ Kitsune thought and winced at the insult. It seemed as Naru's defenses were kicking in with all their frightening glory. Keitaro, however seemed to shrug it off as if he were used to such things.

"No, we met last year right about this time." Even Naru had to stare at that bit of information. This had been going on for a year and no one knew about it? But that thought was put safely to rest as Keitaro continued.

"But then she had to go out of town for a while and we only just met again. I guess you could say that we were just catching up," he finally seemed to have his say and quietly began to apply the soy sauce to his rice. But Naru it seemed had more to say than that.

"Then what about the glomping?" She asked, noticeably more on edge than when she began the conversation.

"Glomping?" Keitaro looked over to Kitsune in askance only to have her shrug in return. "Well, Yuki has always been a sort of physical person. She's always grabbing on to my arm for something or another." Keitaro blushed suddenly, as if only then aware of what the grabbing on to one's arm meant to others watching. "She's really nice actually and I enjoy going out with her, occasionally. We always seem to have so much to talk about!" Keitaro then paused and brightened as an idea hit him suddenly. "I know! All of you should definitely meet her sometime. Maybe tomorrow I can have her come over?"

"Oh, please do," Naru replied cryptically. She then got up and walked her dishes over to the sink. "Well, I think I'm done. If anyone needs me I'll be up in my room…studying." She gave a meaningful look towards Keitaro who paled suddenly.

"Oh crap I forgot about studying with Naru and Mutsumi today!" He muttered and slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. With that final remark he got up quickly and followed after Naru. All of the residents heard him trying to get his apologies out to the brunette and as one they all winced when he evidently did something Keitaro-like and they heard the sound of smashing wood following the shout of 'Pervert!'

No one said anything when Shinobu suddenly rose from her seat and ran to the nearest first aid station and prepared the standard post-Naru Punch accessories. Though if no one said anything about the fact that Keitaro never returned home that night, it was because they were all asleep themselves.

-

The next morning a light buzzing woke Motoko from her sleep and it took her a few moments to remember that it was her alarm clock. Groggily, she got up and rubbed her eyes wearily as she stood for a few moments, letting her mind wake itself up. It had been very late last night when she finally had gone to sleep because Shinobu had insisted on waiting for Keitaro to make his way home after his abrupt departure, and she had felt honor bound to keep the girl company during her wait. The longer the two waited however, the swordswoman had become convinced that perhaps that wasn't such a good idea. Finally, around two in the morning, Motoko had convinced the worried young girl to go off to bed as it was, after all, a school night and both the young women needed to be up early the next day.

Though the residence's youngest girl had difficulty getting some rest while the manager was away, Motoko herself had no qualms about locking him out. After all, she reasoned, if he hadn't the sense to return at a reasonable hour he should hardly expect anyone to wait for him. Not to mention the fact that he did have a spare key to the back door. Mere precedence had kept her from sharing Shinobu's concern towards his health; he hadn't come to harm after more than a year of being sent skyward by Naru or herself so why would he suddenly suffer now?

Suddenly, the swordswoman yawned massively and it became hard for her not to justify returning to her warm bed and skipping her morning exercises for today. She always had had a hard time waking up early in the morning. A fact that, when she was growing up, often earned her teasing from her elder sister during the few occasions that she arrived to practice with a sleepy expression. It was also a testament to her dedication that she was always able to ignore that small part of her that enjoyed sleep, fight the weariness in her body, and keep the schedule she had made up and become accustomed to long ago.

When she finally dressed and retrieved her practice sword from its resting place her mind was satisfactorily awake enough to deal with anything that came her way. Motoko then opened her door and headed for the sun deck that had become a favorite practice spot of hers. Once there, however, she lost all semblance of mental alertness and found she could literally do nothing but stare in utter confusion at the sight before her eyes.

Leaning against one of the laundry posts was none other than the strange woman that she had seen eating lunch with Keitaro yesterday, and in her lap, cradled almost protectively, was Keitaro himself. Or at least Keitaro's head was resting in the girl's lap, the rest of his body was sprawled out upon the deck, protected from the cold winter air by a thick blanket. It appeared upon first glance as if the pair were asleep, huddled together to keep warm. But as Motoko carefully approached, the young woman's head slowly rose and gray eyes met olivine once again.

"Did you do this to him?" She asked quietly, when the young raven-haired girl was close enough to hear.

Motoko, still in a little bit of a shock at finding the ronin and this girl together in such an intimate pose in the least likely of places simply took some time to look over the visible part of Keitaro. Unable to see what the girl could possibly mean by 'this' she raised her eyes once again and voiced her confusion.

"What do you mean, 'this'?" She asked, deliberately inserting a little bit of steel in her voice, trying to regain a sense of presence towards the strange girl.

The girl merely cocked her head to the side and regarded Motoko, either missing completely or choosing to ignore the edge to her voice. A moment later she spoke again. "This, as in forcefully eject him from the house again," she clarified.

Motoko merely shook her head. "No, he did not assault me this time, if that is what you mean."

"Assault?" The girl's eyes widened. Her manner, which the kendoka determined was not threatening, seemed to be simply curious for the time being. Though there was something below her soft voice, something that Motoko could possibly classify as an edge, or at the very least an impetus to answer her questions truthfully. All in all, taking in her voice, mannerism and even to some extent looks, this foreign girl identified by Keitaro as Yuki strangely reminded the kendoka of Mutsumi.

"Yes, assault," Motoko continued, adopting a stern attitude. "One of the many offenses he regularly commits everyday. If it isn't assault, it's usually showing his perverted nature by way of spying on us taking our baths." The young woman crossed her arms over her chest and stared a hole into Keitaro's head. "There hasn't been any limit to his offenses against the residents, and it's a wonder why we keep him around. But who am I to say what goes through my other companions' heads?"

"I see," Yuki answered finally, after a small silence spent contemplating what she had just been told. Her eyes then fell to the head resting in her lap and they softened considerably in affection. "I wonder if he does that to people he cares for considerably?"

"Excuse me?" Motoko was caught short, having barely heard the almost whispered comment. Her hands began to fidget slightly when Yuki then began to softly stroke Keitaro's head and giving him a look that set a light rosy tint to her cheeks.

"Did you know that he loves you all greatly?" Yuki asked, eyes suddenly pulling from her affectionate glances and once again alighting on the woman before her. A small smile played across her lips as she watched Motoko's reaction. There was a brief surprise at first, followed by a scowl a second later, almost in lightening fast succession.

"That's no excuse to…"

"Such love, given so easily, yet almost impossible to take away," Yuki continued as if she hadn't just interrupted Motoko. She returned to stroking the boy's head affectionately, but kept her eyes squarly on Motoko. "Though there is one that he loves above all others. He talks about her almost constantly, as if he isn't aware that there is any other in his life."

Motoko paused and considered the girl's words. "Yes, I know." She said quietly in response. She was well aware of the man's affections towards Naru just as much as the rest of the residency was, with the possible exemption of Naru. The brunette knew that Keitaro cared for her to some great extent of that the young swordswoman was certain, but probably underestimated the strength of his feelings greatly.

"Do you now?" Yuki raised her eyebrows in askance. "Yet don't you find it strange that she continues to treat him such a manner?"

The swordswoman uncrossed her arms and then crossed them again, momentarily put on edge with the girl's line of questioning.

"No, I don't," she replied a moment later. "Urashima has peeked on, harassed and assaulted her so often that he deserves anything that she gives to him. If Urashima were to change his ways and somehow became honorable then, perhaps, I could see her treating him better. But until then he is nothing but a common pervert in need of punishment." Motoko turned away then, beginning to be disturbed by the continued affection being shown to the boy before her by Yuki. "Besides, what does it matter? It seems that he is quite enamored of you, which if that is true then his feelings for Narusagawa were nothing more than a farce."

Yuki blinked, then looked down at the young man cradled within her lap. "I am quite certain that you have mistaken whatever you have seen. It is true, that I do wish he would care for me as greatly as he cares even for one of you, but to command the love that he has for this Narusagawa person would, I think, be out of my reach." She frowned then, continuing on a moment later in a strained voice. "However, if she continues to treat him as she does, then I can possibly foresee something very terrible happening. As it is, I don't believe those two are destined to last."

Motoko turned towards Yuki, surprised etched on her face. Though strangely enough, it was not at the information that something could quite possibly sever the connection between Naru and Keitaro if he continued to earn frequent flyer miles at her behest, but rather at the later statement.

"Why do you suppose such a preposterous notion?" She asked quickly, trying to conceive within her mind the idea of a day that Keitaro wasn't chasing after Naru's affections.

Now it was Yuki's turn to look surprised, staring at the young woman before her with wide eyes. "Can you not feel it?" She whispered, just loud enough for Motoko to hear.

"Feel what?" Motoko was beginning to grow annoyed at the line this conversation was taking. But whatever the reply was going to be, they were suddenly startled by a small sound coming from the sleeping ronin, a sound of someone slowly coming awake. As one, they looked down towards Keitaro and found him staring intently at the both of them from his position of still lying down in Yuki's lap.

"Motoko?" He asked groggily, looking at the girl with the beginnings of recognition and small, but growing alarm. "Yuki? He asked a second later, staring at the girl who was intently returning his gaze. "What are you two doing here?"

"As for me, I live here Urashima, so it is perfectly reasonable that I be in such a place. As for her," and Motoko indicated Yuki with a glance of annoyance, "I would hope that you would have an answer for that."

Yuki's answer followed shortly on the heels of Motoko's but was considerably lighter in tone. "We met up last night, remember, Kei? I walked you home and then we came up here to talk but you fell asleep somewhere after that."

"Oh," Keitaro answered, still slightly muddled from sleep. Then he realized that the warm pillow his head had been resting on was, rather, a lap instead. He blushed a deep crimson and glanced over at Motoko with a petrified look on his face as his body shot up. "Ah, I'm so sorry Yuki, I didn't realize where I was sleeping! It was an accident, honest! Motoko, this isn't what it looks like I swear!"

Yuki merely hid a giggle at Keitaro's reaction behind a delicate hand, and Motoko sighed in annoyance. She was, by this time, completely used to such reactions from the young man. It was Yuki who finally spoke first after a brief pause.

"Don't worry, Kei, you did nothing wrong. I am quite happy that you were able to get some rest." She smiled serenely at the boy before getting up herself and patting her dress lightly.

Now that she was standing and not hidden by a blanket, Motoko could see that the girl had evidently changed from her earlier attire into something that was considerably more modern. The one-piece dress that went to her ankles matched her hair in color and the large and very warm looking sweater that was over the top portion of the dress was a well matching shade of blue. At standing, it appeared as if Yuki was just shorter than Keitaro and petite in stature. Once the young woman was reasonably assure that she was proper the girl glanced over at Keitaro expectantly. When he glanced back her way and gave her a questioning glance she nodded in Motoko's direction and echoed her look of expectation. The young man caught on immediately after that.

"Oh, I'm very sorry! Yuki, this is Motoko Aoyama a resident under my care. Motoko, this is Yuki Fuyuko, the friend I mentioned earlier at dinner."

Now that they were properly introduced, Yuki smiled at Motoko as if they hadn't just spent the pervious minutes talking before Keitaro awoke. "I'm very glad to meet you, I hope you will regard me well."

Motoko blinked with the sudden change in Yuki, but hastily returned the formalities a moment later. Reminded all the more of Mutsumi with the girl's apparent flighty behavior.

Once the introductions were complete, Yuki returned her glance towards Keitaro and gave him an affectionate hug and kiss on the cheek, much to the embarrassment of both Keitaro and Motoko. "Well, I think I had better be going", she added a moment later, then turned towards the stairs. "Thank you for your company, Kei, and I look forward to continuing our conversation later, Ms. Aoyama. I'll see you later this afternoon, Kei." She gave him a small wave and then disappeared down the steps.

Keitaro gave Motoko a strange glance. "Conversation?" He wondered aloud, but at her cold glare he decided not to pursue the subject. "Well, I suppose I'd better go inside and get some more sleep. It took me a while to return last night, after all." He laughed nervously and under Motoko's continued icy stare gathered the blankets that he and Yuki used and went down the stairs as well, leaving Motoko alone with her many, many thoughts on the events that just took place.

-

It wasn't until breakfast, several hours later that Motoko saw Keitaro again and it seemed to her that he was very anxious to keep his distance and avoid eye contact, which suited her just fine. Though it troubled her greatly that she wasn't able to finish her conversation with Yuki, especially after that intriguing comment about her not feeling something. Her instincts were as sharp as anyone else's in her school second only to her older sister, and she refused to believe that she was missing something about Keitaro and Naru.

In that regard, she took the time to critically analyze the very pair that had been the subject of the interrupted conversation. Indeed, on the surface it did appear that the brunette was determined to ignore everything about the ronin. However, looking at her long enough, Motoko was able to spy the girl glancing over towards the young man every rare moment when she thought no one was looking. Still, she could not fathom what about Naru, or Keitaro for that matter, which would be able to show that the couple was not meant to last. That was even if they managed to make it to couple status in the first place.

In that regard, Motoko was somehow very skeptical. She doubted that Keitaro would somehow change enough so that Naru would actually spend more time actually talking to him rather than belting him in the face. Then again, as a nearly forgotten place within her whispered, Keitaro did seem to have a strange way of remaining in your mind, despite all of his perverted actions.

The swordswoman sighed, frustrated at her lack of being able to work the problem out. It seemed as if she would have to wait until she and Yuki would be able to finish their conversation at some later time. Though as she regarded the clock on the wall and silently got up to place her dishes in the sink, she told herself that she would think about the matter some more when she had free time at school. For now, she was going to be late if she didn't hurry.

-

Keitaro watched Motoko go out the front door with a look of trepidation on his face. Whatever he was thinking must have shown on his face because it immediately caught the interest of Naru as she was giving him another one of her covert glances. She silently walked up to him, and regarded him for a moment before opening her mouth to speak.

"Whatever you're thinking it probably won't work," she stated emphatically, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring a hole into the side of Keitaro's head. "Besides, don't you have your precious Yuki?"

"What?" Keitaro turned to face the girl, a look of confusion on his face. It soon occurred to him, though, the direction that her not so subtle comments were going.

"No, you have it wrong, I wasn't thinking anything like that," he assured her, waving an arm in front of him. "It's just that we ran into each other this morning when I was a little, shall we say unprepared for meeting people. I am just a little bit more uncomfortable around her than usual, that's all."

Naru raised her eyebrows at that statement. It wasn't like him to be so utterly honest when it came to opinions of any one of the girls. So admitting that he was just a bit more uncomfortable around Motoko than usual must have meant that whatever happened this morning it must have been truly unique. Of course, the skeptical part of her mind told herself that Motoko probably just saw Keitaro in some act of perversion of some kind. Her fist began twitching when her mind wandered down that path as she positively itched for the chance to avenge Motoko's honor.

There was, however, one nagging thought that kept her fist from connecting at that particular time, and that was the fact that the swordswoman could always be counted on to punish Keitaro with extreme prejudice whenever he was doing something wrong. So then, if he wasn't making his way back to Hinata, as he would be if she had launched him into the horizon, then what in the world happened? Despite her aching curiosity toward the matter though, Naru forced herself to refrain from asking outright what happened. It would make her sound too interested in his doings to do so in this case, something she desperately did not want to happen. If she really wanted to find out she could ask Motoko later this afternoon when the swordswoman returned from school.

Fortunately for her, she did not need to come up with an opening for the next bit of their strained conversation, as Keitaro suddenly brightened and he mentioned the very subject that Naru had hoped to possibly avoid.

"Oh, that's right! I'm meeting Yuki again this afternoon. How about this time I bring her by so she can meet everyone? I am sure that you will like her very much and she has been anxious to meet all of you as well." Keitaro smiled at Naru, failing to see her darkening expression at the mention of that girl's name.

After a brief few minutes of stormy silence Keitaro blinked and regarded his secret love.

"Naru? Is something wrong?" He was beginning to get concerned over her lack of response, and beginning to sense a strange impending doom coming from her general direction. Though, strangely, nothing came of this feeling…and that perhaps worried him more.

"Sounds absolutely lovely," Naru replied suddenly, putting a scary grin on her face. "I really can't wait to meet your new girlfriend." With that, she turned violently and walked upstairs towards her room, leaving a stunned Keitaro in her wake and wondering just what he said to warrant that out of character reaction from the girl. But one word did happen to stick within his mind as he watched Naru's back retreat up the stairs.

"Girlfreind?"

Once Naru reached her room and her door was safely slammed behind her she let out the breath that she had been unaware she was holding. Resolutely she stomped her foot hard on the floor and walked over to her kotatsu and sat down, tucking her long legs underneath the blanket and turning up the heat. She then got out several of the books that she had been going over lately and opened the first one that was placed on top of the stack. As hard as she could, the brunette tried to forget about the conversation that she had just had and how much it truly bothered her. But after re-reading the same sentence three times she gave up all pretenses and tossed the book over her shoulder carelessly and leaned forward and placed one delicate cheek upon her crossed arms.

It wasn't as if Naru meant to lose control every time she and Keitaro tried to have a normal conversation, but there was so many things that she wanted to say that just wouldn't come out of her stubborn mouth! The young woman realized that things would be a lot easier in her life right now if she had just told the young man that she was rather fond of him. But thinking the thought and saying it were apparently two different things. Then of course, Keitaro had to be so oblivious to just about anything but the direct approach and that made talking to him very difficult indeed.

Naru heaved a long sigh that sent the fringes of her bangs flying in every direction, having worn herself out to frustration trying to resolve the situation to some satisfaction. But the more she thought about it, the more Kitsune's earlier words kept ringing inside her head. Was it possible that she actually **had** pushed too hard? Of course, she, like everyone else in the Inn merely assumed that Keitaro did not actually have a breaking point. You could literally come at him with anything and he'd walk away still breathing, with only a few minor bumps and bruises. It was that sort of physical immortality that led her to believe that his emotional state was just as immortal. After all, hadn't he failed the entrance exam for Tokyo University three times already and still he burned for another chance, a chance to meet his promised girl. It had taken all she had just to convince herself to try again after her **first** failure, not to mention a few of the nicer conversations she had had with the three time ronin.

Thinking of the promise girl however, gave Naru a reason to pause in her one track thinking. What was about this so called 'promise girl?' Was it even worth trying to form something with Keitaro if he merely was going to end it over meeting some silly girl he made a promise with over fifteen years ago? Would he even meet her, even if he did get into Toudai? She had to admit, fifteen years was a really long time to hold onto a promise, and though Keitaro still clung to that thought, was it even conceivable to think that there is some young girl out there that was the same as Keitaro? It was a rather strange thought, but the young woman supposed it could be true, after all, there was always Mutsumi.

Mutsumi…no one worried her more than that girl when it came to actually attracting the attention of Keitaro. Which was why, Naru supposed, that this Yuki girl was so utterly out of place. His affections for this new girl literally came out of left field and took the Hinata House by surprise. It was just so strange to think that Keitaro would go elsewhere to find affection from the opposite sex, not when he had young, pretty, Mutsumi practically tripping over him…literally. There was even a strange chance that the Okinawan woman could be the fabled promise girl that the ronin always dreamed of meeting again someday. It was a long shot, Naru had to admit, but there were way too many similarities in the pair's situations to be a mere coincidence. Not to mention the two were so utterly alike you could say that each was the twin of the other quite easily, a fact that made Mutsumi and Keitaro a perfect match in just about anyone's estimation. Except hers.

When they first met, Naru had been merely amazed at the similarities between the two that she did not consider the fact that they could actually begin dating. It wasn't until later, when they were trying to return the confused girl to her home when she had first realized that Mutsumi posed a serious threat to the affections Keitaro held for her.

Of course, if she was absolutely honest with herself, Naru had to admit that at that point trying to attract Keitaro was about as far from her mind as which retirement home she would eventually live in. Back then it was all she could do to keep his perverted hands off of her…or at least, supposedly perverted hands. It wasn't until shortly after that the ronin had begun to occupy her thoughts more and more, or that his nervous attempts at affection became somewhat more bold and recognizable. After that point, it had become something of a game trying to collect all those affectionate glances and selfless acts he did for her. The brunette had to admit though, that even then he was fun to tease. Keitaro was someone whom she felt oddly comfortable with, when he wasn't tripping over his own feet and landing on her breasts, anyway.

Naru groaned and threw her head back from the comfort of her arms and tussled her hair violently, trying to stimulate **something** in her brain that would tell her what to do about this new and previously unexplored situation that had come up. When had she lost control? When was the point, if there ever was one that Keitaro began to slide from her grasp and into another's? Did she even **want** his affection in the first place? Would she want it back badly enough to actually try and salvage it? All of these questions ran toe-to-heel in the girl's mind making her want to go insane with all the possibilities each one of those questions brought up. One thing was for sure though, and that was needed to decide and decide quickly otherwise no matter what she did, it would all be for naught.

"Come on Naru," she muttered aloud, trying to encourage herself. "There has to be something you can do. Anything! What would Keitaro do in a situation like this? No, better not think of that, he'd probably over-react and go into a panic until he wore himself out. I definitely don't need to do that." Though in that line of reasoning, she did find at least a temporary solution to her problem, maybe. Maybe she was just over-reacting to the situation. Maybe he and Yuki weren't going out but simply as he said, friends just catching up after a long absence. Though there would be a point eventually when mere friendliness became something more, and the more she thought about it now, the more she felt she had to stop that from happening at any and all costs.

With her mind at least nominally made up now, her thought pattern calmed considerably as her brain went into familiar territory once again: make a plan and execute. She would merely ask him directly, no subterfuge, no insinuation. Just ask him outright whether his feelings for this new girl went over friendship or not. If he wanted to know why, well…then she would think of something to say after that point, but the main idea in this plan being that she would for once not overreact and just straight out ask. If it were just friends catching up, then she could be safe in going back to way things were, but just keep a closer eye on him. If it were the other possibility though…she honestly didn't know what she would then. Of course, in order to enact the now formulated plan, she had to find the boy. A fact that seemed like it was going to take a longer while than she thought once she went over to the board that connected her room to his and poked her head through the hole to find the resident manager, for once, not in residence.

"Great," she muttered to herself, her confident mood beginning to whither a little bit at this unexpected delay, "the one time I have something important to say to him, he's not around to hear it." Her mood, withering, but far from ready to give up, Naru began to instigate a search for the missing manager, a fact made all the more difficult considering the majority of the household was away at school, and the one person left in the building she definitely did **not** want to talk to right now. Kitsune would more than likely see right through her little plan to 'innocently' find the ronin and talk to him. The resident drunk was a great friend of hers, she knew, but there times when one definitely could not afford to talk to the woman in confidence because you could never be quite sure what she would do. She could act like she understood and help you out one moment, then the next moment, turn around and blackmail you with the knowledge she now possessed.

So it was alone, and without any help that Naru searched nearly the entire grounds of the Hinata Inn looking for the young man. Several hours later, to say that her temper was beginning to flare and the resolution she held to find Keitaro and talk to him all but crumbled would probably be considered an understatement. It was in this near doom state that she finally found him, walking in the front door with a petite woman with gray hair that looked about his age following closely behind. Ignoring the strange girl completely, the brunette set her sight on the three-time ronin and her anger simmered to a boil. The nerve of him, being completely unreachable the one time she had something really important to say to him! The fact that he seemed to be having an enjoyable conversation took her temper past the boiling point and into steaming. At this point, whatever it was she had intended to say to the young man was completely forgotten and her subconscious, desperately trying to get her to remember her pact, was swiftly booted off center stage.

"There you are!" She called out, once Keitaro had removed his shoes and allowed his companion to do the same. In his happiness, Keitaro failed to see behind the calm exterior of the girl in front of him so was oblivious to the steaming rage shining in her eyes.

"Naru! I'm glad you're here!" He greeted the girl with a smile. "I was just about to call out to you and Kitsune and introduce you to Yuki, the friend I told you about yesterday. We were just about to meet for lunch and I thought I'd bring her by."

Naru, for her part glared holes into Keitaro's forehead. Though she was temporarily put on guard because of Yuki, the fact that he mentioned that they were going out again allowed her anger to slip past her barrier of politeness. "But I have something important to say to you…alone." She managed to grind out between clenched teeth. To her credit, she really was trying to salvage whatever was left of her former commitment to talk to the young man.

"Oh…um, can it wait? We really just have time to say hi before we need to go. We're going into Tokyo today and need to catch the afternoon train soon." Keitaro looked a little torn between decisions at that point. At one hand, he **really** did need to catch the afternoon train with Yuki, but on the other, if Naru wanted to talk to him alone it must be something pretty important. He was always hard pressed to deny the girl anything she wanted and this time was no different.

The brunette made a noise somewhat close to a growl and narrowed her stare to the point where her frown began to make an appearance to the normally oblivious Keitaro. "I suppose so." She muttered, about ready to do an about face and try to find something else to occupy her time when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

"Naru? Is something wrong?" Keitaro asked, concern lacing his town.

"No, nothing is wrong," she uttered, finding it hard to keep eye contact with the boy. She made to take a step back so he wouldn't be touching her anymore, a fact that was making her very uncomfortable at the moment. However, being the unlucky person that he was, Keitaro over compensated his balance and when Naru took that step backwards he was propelled slightly forward at which point gravity took over and he found himself flailing about, trying to right his center of balance. In that flailing, he must have touched something inappropriate because one moment Naru's eyes were wide with surprise the next narrowed with anger.

"In front of a stranger, no less!" She hollered, eyes burning red and fist cocked, ready to be released. "You PERVERT!"

The next moment was a blur in Keitaro's memory as he couldn't quite explain the feeling he then felt, no matter how much he thought about it afterwards. One moment, he was regaining his balance and frozen in fear of the fist that was about to make contact with his head, the next moment he was falling once again, this time in the opposite direction that he tumbled earlier. He heard a load thump a second later, and he ended up still standing, somehow turned one hundred and eighty degrees facing a surprised Yuki and their foreheads almost touching.

"Umm, sorry?" He asked, still wondering what exactly happened. Too preoccupied then with the fact that he could feel his friend's breath against his cheek and was close enough to now be able to tell that Yuki's eyes weren't really grey, but a very, very interesting shade of bluish-silver. He spent a few moments like that, staring at the girl before him before he came back to himself and remembered the loud thump he heard right before this situation occurred. With horror, he turned around quickly to find Naru nearly face planted on the ground, having miraculously missed in her swing, when she normally connected. That small fact was enough to put her off balance and down she went. As it was, she was just getting back up on her hands and knees when Keitaro realized what was happening and bent down to help her up.

"Don't touch me!" the girl snarled, as he reached a hand down to help her up. Keitaro suddenly found his hand slapped away and facing a very upset Naru a moment later. "Just go on your date and don't touch me!" She finished, whipping about so fast that her hair flared out from her head dramatically. The next second, Keitaro found himself staring at a back retreating quickly up the stairs, wondering just what happened to make things go so wrong.

Naru for her part, was the exact opposite as she knew exactly what had gone wrong. She had ruined just about everything she planned on doing and was left with the tattered remains of her temper. The temper though, only lasted long enough for her to slam her shoji door closed with such force it rattled her window on the opposite side of the room, and throw herself down on a few pillows she had strewn about and cry.

With as loud as her sobbing was, it was a miracle that she heard the knock on her door only moments after she crashed through her door. But heard it she did, though Naru was in no mood to talk to anyone right now.

"Please, go away," she wailed, managing to stop her sobbing but still sounding like her throat was raw. The voice that came from the other end of her door, though, was the last person she had expected to hear.

"Naru, it's me, Keitaro. I don't really know what happened back there but I thought…I just wanted to know if you were okay." Keitaro, for his part, was really worried about his friend. In the past few minutes she hadn't exactly behaved like she usually did, and it was easy to see that she obviously had something weighing greatly on her mind.

Naru, too surprised to find that Keitaro had actually come after her instead of leaving with his friend couldn't find anything to say at first, her mouth merely opened and closed ineffectually without any sound. Eventually, after a few more tears streaked down her already soaked cheeks sound returned to her throat and she looked up at the young man in front of her to see his look of concern. At that moment, every word she wanted to say found their way into her throat, it no longer mattered how her relationships with the other residents would be effected, all she wanted all she needed was for Keitaro to keep looking at her with that very same look of deep affection.

"Pl…please don't leave me." Though she spoke quietly, Keitaro heard every word and his heart nearly sang at the implications behind them. Suddenly, the words that Yuki had spoken to him, right before he followed Naru up the stairs were thrown to the wind and he walked slowly over to the woman whom he desperately wanted to be near and caressed her cheek softly. To him, it was the greatest moment of his life to finally be able to show the affection he was overflowing with to the woman of his dreams. Nothing else mattered in all of his life more than this moment, not even Toudai.

"Don't worry, I won't," he whispered right before they collapsed in a tight hug all smiles and tears. Outside, the cold frigid, empty air gave way to small specks of white. After nearly a day of waiting, it had finally begun to snow.

**(End Chapter 1)**


	2. Part 1, Chapter 2

_**A note from the author:** Hello again, dear readers, and welcome to the second chapter of 'The wisdom of Snow.' This piece was actually done before I had posted the first chapter but I held on to it for a week because I needed to assure continuity. It has actually gone quite past the scope of my original outline now and I'm scrambling to catch everything up and make sure this is the best story I can make it. I'd like to thank everyone who initially reviewed the previous chapter. Your comments and conjectures were very much welcome. This chapter hopefully assures that this story is not just a one shot, of which I've only produced so far. As always comments and criticism is welcome. Standard disclaimers apply. Oh yeah, Motoko cheesecake be ahead. Ye be warned._

**The Wisdom of Snow**

**Part 1, Chapter 2**

**Author: Garasu**

"I'm going out now!" Keitaro yelled from the base of the stairs as he put a coat over his shoulders. "I'll be back later this evening."

"Alright, have fun!" The response came from Naru, one of the only residents in Keitaro's care that was currently at home, everyone else having left to complete errands of their own. In fact, Naru would have been accompanying the young man at this time if she had had anything to say about it, but as it was, Keitaro had told her that he was going to be shopping for Christmas presents for everyone including her. Much to his surprise, she had dropped it after that with merely a smile and a lighting fast kiss on the cheek.

As he stepped out the door, Keitaro sparred a small smile for that particular memory, wondering for the millionth time just how lucky he was to have a girlfriend like Naru.

Girlfriend.

That particular title gave the young man pause. Ever since she had pretty much confessed to him last week they had been growing steadily closer, even going out on a few official dates since then. Indeed, his luck seemed to have changed since that fated moment when he decided that instead of following her directions and going out with Yuki, he followed Naru to her room instead to try and help her. Though strangely, since that day he had not seen his silver haired friend.

Just as he reached the bottom of the steps however, the very person whom his thoughts had wandered to appeared, sitting at the second to last step and apparently waiting for him. To his credit he got over his shock at his friend's sudden re-appearance in his life quickly.

"Yuki?" He asked, coming to a rest near the girl and giving her time to look up at him and flash him one of her bright smiles for which she had been known for.

"Hello, Kei, been a while hasn't it?" Yuki stood up and dusted herself off with a few strategic pats on her light blue dress. Keitaro once again marveled at the foreign, almost strange beauty that Yuki was seemingly blessed with. "I'm sorry I haven't been around the last week, I had some errands to take care of, and I didn't want to be a bother either."

Keitaro blushed at the last implication but waved it off with a friendly smile. "That's alright, I've been, um, busy this past week too."

Yuki merely hid a very feminine giggle behind one of her delicate hands. "Yes, I am sure you have been. How are you and Naru doing?"

The young man's blush returned full force this time, along with a somewhat goofy smile as his mind took that excuse to once again run over the past week in his mind. Stolen kisses, smiles and understanding instead of regular flights to the other side of town? He would take the former any day. To his friend he merely replied, "good."

"So…what brings you out here anyway?" He asked, suddenly wanting to change the subject away from him and Naru.

"Oh, I just wanted to see how my friend was doing," Yuki replied cryptically. "Do you have time to catch up?"

"Actually, I was just about to do some Christmas shopping in Tokyo, would you like to join me? I could…um, use your help I think for a few gifts I want to get. I really want to get all of the girls something nice this year and I'm just not used to choosing gifts for the opposite sex." Keitaro executed his trademark hand behind the neck in embarrassment, thinking of one person in particular he was going to have a special trouble with.

Yuki flashed him another brilliant smile. "I'd love to…for a small fee."

Keitaro perked up at the sound of the small addendum, giving the young woman the tiniest hint of fear. Proof that he had been hanging around the conniving fox-lady one too many times.

"Relax, Kei, I just meant that I had better get a present out of it too."

"Oh, that, well…that I can do." Keitaro laughed and fought to reign in his embarrassment at his reaction to the small string of words 'for a small fee.' To tell the truth, Kitsune was the singular reason why he now had a small complex when it came to that particular sentence. Once he managed to get his blush under proper control, he indicated the ground in front of him and added, "well, shall we go?"

The silver-haired girl smiled and grabbed his arm instead of walking ahead of him and flashed him a dazzling smile. "Let's."

--

"Yuki?"

The young woman raised her head over a rack of clothing she was currently perusing and looked over to where her friend, Keitaro, had called her. "Yes?" A moment later she stepped around the rack and joined his side.

"What do you think about this, you know, for Motoko?" He asked hesitantly, showing her a reasonably fashionable spaghetti strapped shirt and a cute pair of shorts. Yuki gave the items a once over and shook her head.

"The top is nice, but I don't think it goes well with the shorts." She replied sweetly, noticing as she said that Keitaro's ever lowering head. She patted him on the shoulder comfortingly and gave him an encouraging smile. "Aw, don't worry Kei, I'm sure that you'll find something for her. How many of the others do you have left to shop for?"

"Um, well, let's see…I have the sake for Kitsune, the novelty pillows for Sarah and Su, and of course the tickets for Shinobu. I already know what I want to get Aunt Haruka as well, I just have to go get it. So that leaves just Mutsumi, Motoko, and Naru that I have left." Keitaro sighed and looked at the rapidly depleting contents of his wallet. "And those three would be the most difficult ones too. I really want to make Naru's gift this year special. Mutsumi I'm sure she'll like anything I give her but Motoko…I'm not really sure. I thought I should get her something, well…feminine like clothes or something that would help her get a head start…and uh, I'll stop now." Something about the way that Yuki's smile was beginning to become positively electric as he talked about what to get for Motoko was beginning to make the young man really uncomfortable.

"Well, I think you're too sweet, Kei," Yuki added with a small smile, giving him a brief hug along with it. "Though we just talked briefly, I think I really like Motoko, and I'm sure that anything you give her would be greatly appreciated."

"Well, I'm not too sure of that," the brown haired ronin put in, making sure to return the clothing he was holding carefully back on the rack where it belonged. "It seems that ever since I arrived she has had it out for me, though I can't say I really blame her with all the accidents that seem to follow me around. **I'd** believe I was a pervert too with all the things I can't seem to stop myself from doing. I wish I were as graceful as her, then maybe those things wouldn't happen." Keitaro sighed wistfully and continued on with his shopping, desperate to find something suitable for the kendo girl so he could move on to Naru and Mutsumi.

"I think all things will come in time," Yuki said quietly, watching Keitaro shop ahead of her. The ronin, of course, completely missed her quiet statement and she merely followed after him. After a while though she spotted something out of the corner of her eye and she smiled at the thought, suddenly getting a sneaky idea.

"Hey, Kei! I know how about getting her one of those?" Yuki pointed obligingly when the ronin turned to see what she was talking about and when he caught her drift he blushed a deep shade of red.

"N..no…I could never get her something like that! She'd kill me for sure!" Keitaro's voice rose a few octaves as his eyes continued to stare at the simple bra that his silver-haired friend had pointed out to him. He had to admit…it did look good though, and considering that all the kendo girl wore was the old the fashioned chest bindings, a bra would be the first step to being able to wear all the items that a modern female wore these days. Keitaro shook his head violently at the direction his thoughts were going. It was a **bra** for crying out loud! And for Motoko nonetheless! Even if he had a serious enough death wish to get her something like that he wouldn't know her size anyway. But he could find out… the young ronin sighed. It seemed like once Yuki had started him down this path the more he was attracted to the idea. Of course, that particular attraction didn't give him very comforting thoughts about his supposed perverse side.

_But,_ he thought, with more than a little trepidation,_ a bra is so…intimate. I don't know what Naru would think if I got Motoko something so…perverted. Yeah, perverted, that's it. She'd call me a pervert and give me a one way ticket to Tokyo via Air Naru. That is if Motoko doesn't send me there first._

"Lookie!" Yuki's exclamation brought him from his thoughts and he very nearly lost his lunch when he finally realized his friend was now holding a small silky band in between her hands and holding it up to her own chest for Keitaro's education. "See, this one would be perfect! It's got a cute little pink bow in the middle and it's silky too! I'm sure she'd hate lace because it's just too itchy and all those modern under wire things. Never could get used to them myself. Um, Kei? What's wrong?"

Yuki blinked and gazed at her companion. The young ronin had a half-baked expression on his face, a smile that was fit to convince any doctor that he had lost his sanity and was cherry red right to the tip of his ears. Distantly, she heard some giggling in the background and noticed a group of young women staring, with quite a bit of interest, at the scene.

All poor Keitaro could mutter was "Price?" That being that last coherent thought that had run through his brain before Yuki had drawn his attention away from trivial things like thinking.

Yuki spared a brief look at the tag and frowned. "No, this one wouldn't be good for her anyway. It's too small. I bet a 32B would be more her size. I'll go ask and see if they have one in that size but the same style." With that, the young girl moved off to the cashier, ready to ask her question. Keitaro was left all alone, and with the same expression on his face, his body not yet ready to catch up with the rest of him.

She returned a moment later, a smile that made the room around her just a little bit brighter. "Good news! They have it! Would you like to buy it?" The only answer she received was Keitaro pulling out his wallet, painfully slow and still not moving a muscle but the ones required to make his arm move and handed the silver-haired girl the leather item. With that task done, he promptly passed out no doubt due to blood flow problems.

"BEAVERS AND DUCKS!" Keitaro woke with a sudden start and looked around him frantically, trying to get his bearings. Immediately, he was able to determine several things. One, that it was now dark outside, two, that the pillow his head was resting on was very comfortable and finally, judging by the laughter that was all around him, he was still in a public setting and was once again making a fool of himself.

"Ah, so you're awake now?" His mind immediately recognized the voice that was coming from above him as Yuki's and he looked up and smiled slightly in embarrassment.

"Yeah, thanks for being a pillow again. Sorry about passing out back there too. Did you get the..um…gift?"

"Yes, so you don't have to worry about one more person. Do you have any ideas for the ones you have left?"

The young man sighed and sat up, rubbing the back of his head nervously as he did so. The two people left whom he did not have anything to shop for were the two people he possibly considered the hardest. After all, what in the world did you get your girlfriend for your first Christmas together? Being the person that Keitaro was growing up, mainly dateless, he had no earthly clue what to get for that special someone. It was right about then that he finally was able to notice that he and Yuki were sitting on the edge of a fountain in the middle of a mall courtyard. All around him the sights and smells of the Holidays reminded the ronin of just how much time he had left to get everything in order. It was, after all, Christmas Eve. Oh, why hadn't he started this earlier?

Belatedly, he turned to Yuki and shook his head, indicating that he had no earthly clue as to what to get the two women.

"Well, how about we just walk around and see if something attracts your attention?" The silver-haired girl asked, indicating that they should probably move from their spot and continue on with their journey before it got too late to do anything else.

"That's probably a good idea," Keitaro returned, and stood up and stretched for a moment, taking in all of the shops that surrounded the courtyard they were in. Suddenly, one shop in particular caught his attention and he carefully maneuvered himself around the many people to get a closer look at a particular window directly in front of where they were standing.

It was beautiful, the way the soft red fabric shone with an almost ethereal light. The white trimmed edges matched the red well, and made it particularly noticeable given the holiday season. Keitaro's eyes drifted lower and noticed the price tag that was attached to one of the cuffs and nearly choked. The price was evidently proper if the coat was every bit of a quality item as it appeared to be, but that didn't appease the young man who was on a very strict budget this year.

_That would take nearly everything I have left, _he thought ruefully. He still had to buy Mutsumi a gift as well as Yuki not to mention get Haruka's…but the coat was just so lovely and it would look even better on his girlfriend. _Perhaps…I can make it work._ Wishful thinking, he knew, but the present was everything he had been looking for, if now was the time to suck it up and go all out he didn't know of any other situation it would be better.

Yuki merely watched as Keitaro stood in front of the store window as if he was transfixed, then as if he made up his mind about something he went in to the store immediately and a moment later a saleswoman removed the beautiful coat from it's resting place. Evidently it was the last one they had. She smiled a trifle as her young friend came out a few minutes after he went in carrying a very large package, as happy as a young boy in a candy store.

"Did you find something good?" She asked as he returned, well aware of what he bought but she found herself caught up in his enthusiasm.

"Better than good! I found something great!" Keitaro explained gleefully. A moment later he sobered a bit and put his hand behind his neck in a characteristic gesture of embarrassment. "Though I'm afraid it cost me a bit more than I had planned on spending," he added quietly, looking into her eyes apologetically.

The young woman merely gave him a radiant smile and patted him on the shoulder, getting his drift immediately. "Don't worry, Kei, what's important is that Naru will be happy. She will, won't she?"

Keitaro patted the bag proudly and nodded his head in the affirmative. "Mm!"

"Excuse me sir? Would you like to buy a Christmas cake? We have a special going on now." A woman asked from directly behind Keitaro and he spun around quickly when he recognized the voice.

"Mutsumi? Is that you?" He exclaimed and took a closer look at the girl.

"Hmm? Oh my! Kei!" the bubbly girl immediately dropped her sign and clapped her hands in delight as soon as she recognized that the young man in front of her was, indeed, Keitaro. Her eyes then went to Yuki, who was standing behind the young ronin and poking her head above his shoulder so she could see better. "Wow, and Naru looks like she colored her hair! Hello Naru!"

Keitaro chuckled nervously at his friend's antics and shook his head. "No Mutsumi, this isn't Naru. This is my friend Yuki Fuyuko, she was helping me do a bit of shopping for the girls. Yuki, this is my study buddy and good friend Mutsumi Otohime." Keitaro stepped aside as he introduced his two friends, letting the young women stand directly in front of each other.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," both girls responded at the same time, making Keitaro blink in confusion at how well their voices blended together. Then, as one, both bowed but were a little too close to each other and knocked heads on their way down. "Ow!"

"Weird," the young ronin muttered, not quite prepared to know that he would ever meet someone who was the apparent equal to the beautiful Okinawan woman other than himself in the accident department. Though in retrospect, it was no wonder he got along with Yuki so well. But the thought about the girls did bring another bit of information to the forefront of his mind. "Ah, that reminds me, Mutsumi, we are having a little party at the Inn tonight for all the tenants and whatnot, since you spend so much time with us we consider you an extension of our clan and would be honored if you could join us."

"Oh, a party!" The pretty space cadet clapped her hands in delight again, but then she turned a bit serious. "Though I'm afraid I can't make it until late, I must finish my part time job." At Keitaro's confusion she picked up her dropped sign and pointed to it.

"Ah! I see." The ronin nodded. "Yeah I understand. But we'll probably be going for a while so no matter what time you finish why don't you stop by?"

"Oh my, I'd love to!" Mutsumi responded and gave Keitaro another shot of her powerful megawatt smile. "And it was so nice meeting you, miss Yuki!" She called over her shoulder as she returned to her job of advertising special Christmas cakes.

"It was nice meeting you as well!" Yuki returned with a smile of her own. "I like her," she pronounced to Keitaro a moment later, after Mutsumi was out of earshot.

"Yeah, she has that affect on people." The young man once again took a look at Mutsumi, an affectionate expression set on his face. There were many times when he found himself caught between the beauty of both Naru and Mutsumi and he often wondered what would have become of him and the pretty three time ronin had he not met and fell in love with Naru first. But, he decided, after only a second spent wondering about the possibilities, that that was neither here nor there. He was with Naru and couldn't be happier at that prospect.

The pair was about to turn and continue their shopping when suddenly a hand fell on Keitaro's shoulder and he was roughly turned around only to stare into the face of one very jealous looking reindeer and one not so jolly Santa.

"Kei…ta…ro!" Both men said in unison, their eyes glowing with the red of evil intent.

Being the dense person he was, the poor three timer did not immediately recognize his friend's faces and went down on his knees in fright, ready to hand over anything that the two wanted. "Ah! Please! Just don't hurt me!" He yelled frantically, almost crying.

"Relax, man, it's just us…Haitani and Shirai," his friends said, after rolling their eyes dramatically at their friend's display. They then turned as one to Yuki. "You sure you want to be with this guy? We're some pretty interesting guys once you get to know us."

"Umm, no thanks?" Yuki responded quietly, not really knowing what to make of Keitaro's two friends, nor the undercurrent of desperation she read in their voices.

The two ronins merely shrugged and sighed loudly. "Well," Haitani, the taller of the two, said "we had to try. But that still doesn't excuse this guy over here from two timing the lovely Naru."

"Two timing?" Keitaro recovered from his initial fear fast and rose up to yell at his friends. "Yuki is a friend. A **friend** who happens to be helping me get some gifts for the girls, including Naru!"

Shirai, the stocky dark-brown haired young man with big glasses looked over at Yuki. "Is this true?" He received a nod a moment later.

"Well then are you sure you wouldn't like join us for some karaoke?" Haitani asked again, making a small flower pop from his hand as if by magic. It was truly his one trick, but he did it rather well in his estimation. "We still have to work for now but how about later?"

"Back to work you two," Keitaro muscled his way in between his overly eager friend and a bewildered Yuki. He backed up his claim by shoving his friends around and pushing them in the opposite direction. "If you're good I may just let you know when we're having the next party over at the Inn."

This seemed to have the desired effect on his two high school friends as they perked up immediately. "You promise?" They asked, barely containing their excitement.

"Maybe," Keitaro repeated, then turned around and led Yuki off into the crowd. "Sorry about that," he added, once they were far enough away to talk without his friends hearing them. "They tend to get a little over eager when it comes to girls. Especially the single types, though lately even attachments don't seem to bother them."

"Just like you become panicky in most situations?" Yuki teased, eliciting a groan from her friend.

"Man, I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?

"Invite me to the party and I may just forget…sometime next year." The young woman laughed at Keitaro's downhearted expression. Without any more events that night the two finished the last of the shopping and then made their way back to Hinata for what would be a party that promised to be one that nobody would forget anytime soon.

--

"Wow, what a day," Keitaro commented as he and Yuki made their way up the final steps leading the Hinata Inn. He smiled a bit and held up his many packages. "But at least I got a little something for everybody this year. I'm glad I could do at least that much for them."

"Despite everything that they have done to you?" his friend asked quietly.

"Heh…well, I know we've had are fair share of arguments and misunderstandings but the girls, all of them, have never failed to support me when things didn't go exactly as planned. Besides, I feel a little guilty for all the trouble I've caused them these past two years so a few gifts were the least I could do. And I know I've said it enough for tonight, but thank you very much for helping me out with a few of these items. I would have been so lost without your guidance."

"Anytime." Yuki smiled. "I hope everybody likes what you picked out."

"So do I," the ronin announced, as the pair approached the door. "Well, here we go!" He opened the sliding door and the light from inside flooded the darkened porch quickly, making him shield his eyes for a second.

"Surprise!" Everyone yelled as Keitaro entered the Inn. "Merry Christmas!"

"Wow! You guys really went all out this year, didn't you?" Keitaro took in all of the food and drinks, not to mention the very festive costumes that all his tenants were wearing. As he glanced about in every direction trying to take it all in at once he noticed that someone had even convinced Motoko to dress up for the occasion and he chuckled to himself when he also noticed that she was not too pleased with the selection either judging by the way she was constantly trying to close the slit that went all the way up to her mid thigh. Suddenly, movement caught his eye and he glanced in that direction just in time to notice his girlfriend walking up to him.

"Like what you see?" Naru did a little pirouette on one foot as she let him see the cute little Santa costume she had donned for the party. Shyly, she stole up to him and kissed him on the cheek in a welcoming gesture. "Try not to look too stunned, Yuki is getting cold."

Keitaro's eyes widened at the sudden realization that he hadn't moved from the door frame yet and that his friend was still stuck outside. "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry Yuki!" He quickly moved from his position and allowed the girl to enter, taking her coat when she handed it to him to place in the appropriate spot.

"It's okay, really," she replied. "Thank you so much for inviting me."

"The more the merrier, besides this pervert can't help surrounding himself with beautiful women." Naru chuckled, then for a split second her face turned serious and she beckoned Keitaro's friend closer for a private word. "Yuki, listen…umm I know we haven't had much time to talk in the last week but I really wanted to say I'm sorry for the way I acted the last time you were here. I really don't know what came over me."

Yuki merely smiled and patted the girl on the shoulder. "It's understandable enough," she replied. "We all do crazy things when we really like another person."

"Yeah, I suppose." Naru smiled, glad to get that piece of guilt off of her chest. "But I'm sorry none the less. Now, what we need to do is eat and celebrate!" Her voice rose louder so that by the time she finished her sentence the whole room could hear.

"Here here!" Kitsune replied, flashing her characteristic smile and bottle of sake. Then her smile turned from one of happiness to predatory delight as she noticed the packages that Keitaro had been carrying earlier. "And what do we have here? Might there be presents?"

Keitaro laughed and moved over to his bags, all of the girls following eagerly. "You caught me! I know this year has been pretty tough on us all, and I guess this my little way of apologizing to everyone for being such a pain."

"Aww, well I'd say you shouldn't have but I'm more concerned with finding out what you brought me." Kitsune fired back, giving the young ronin a slap on the back. "Come on everyone, gather around, it's present time!"

Everyone circled around Keitaro, eager to receive their gifts and one by one they each got a professionally wrapped box. "I tried to find something that I thought everyone would like. Fortunately, Yuki was there with me to help with a few of the tougher choices so I hope everyone likes what they got!"

"Kitsune, this one's for you. I know I probably shouldn't be helping your vice here but I thought it was too much like you to pass up." Kitsune smiled as she opened up a nice gift box with a bottle of blueberry wine. "I thought sake was too common so hopefully you might enjoy this on a special occasion."

"Well, I'm impressed, lover boy. I haven't tried this stuff yet but my friends say it's tops." Kitsune saluted the ronin and set the bottle aside where it wouldn't get knocked over before she went back to her sake bottle.

Next on the list was Shinobu, who arrived wearing the cutest Santa's helper dress Keitaro had ever seen. "I hope you'll like this, Shinobu, I remembered how much you loved the amusement park thing so I thought maybe you might like to return sometime." He handed the ecstatic girl a small wrapped box which she tore open and found a pair of tickets to her favorite attraction. Unfortunately, she noticed that the pair were for girl's only, which disappointed her immensely that she wasn't able to ask Keitaro to join her this time but she found she could not fault him for the thoughtful gift.

"Oh, thank you Sempai! I really love this park!" She managed to exclaim, looking at him with fierce affection.

"It was my pleasure," he responded in kind. Now, this one's for you, Su, and Sarah…I didn't forget you either. Here you go!"

There was a brief flurry of movement as the youngest residents tore open their packages with careless glee before looking on in wonder at their gifts. Su, was naturally happy at any given time of the day but this particular banana pillow had her positively beside herself. She looked over to find Sarah staring at a strange pillow shaped like a massive mask with big lips. She was about to protest its ugliness when Su nailed her with her own pillow. The two were soon embroiled in a pillow fight too fierce to think about anything else.

"Hmm, I'm glad I got those reinforced pillows with handy handles for pillow fights," Keitaro mumbled as he watched the two go at it. Pulling out his next package he looked at the name and smiled. "Motoko, I believe it's your turn."

"You, shouldn't have, Urashima," Motoko responded politely, bowing her acceptance of the gift just the same.

"Yeah, well, you were the hardest I think as I really wasn't sure what to give you. Fortunately Yuki pointed something out, but boy was it ever embarrassing to buy it!" The ronin laughed and blushed for a moment, making Motoko give him a strange look before delicately opening the nicely wrapped package. What she found underneath a soft layer of tissue paper was enough to make her freeze.

_A…a bra!_ She thought, staring at the small silky item in the box, not sure exactly what to say or do. The only thing that held her back from decrying his perverseness right there was the fact that he had mentioned it was Yuki's idea. Still, when in the world would she ever bring herself to where this…this…monstrosity of femininity? Curious as to what had made the swordswoman react the way she did, Kitsune wandered over to see what she had received. Before Motoko could hide the gift, the lush had stolen it from the box and held it up for the world to see.

"Oh-ho! I knew Keitaro had his sights set on Naru, but maybe we should expand that premise a bit!" She exclaimed excitedly, dodging all of Motoko's feeble attempts to get the item back. "Kei, my boy, should we have Motoko try it on for you and let you see how well it fits?"

Both ronin and swordswoman froze in shock, their faces turning bright red at the implications.

"No! I didn't mean-"

"I would never-"

Kitsune smiled evilly at the pair's reaction. Unable to resist the slight annoyance showing in Naru's face either. All she knew was that the gift given Naru had better be good otherwise the boy would find himself walking home from Tokyo. One look at Keitaro and the fox knew that the ronin reached the very same conclusion she had. With an obvious effort he fought to reign in his embarrassment and despite himself, did a manageable job. Once he was sure that he wasn't as quite red in the face as he was, he walked quietly over to his girlfriend and whispered in her ear.

Though Kitsune couldn't quite be sure what the boy said to Naru, she was at least pleased with the reaction the younger woman showed. The pretty brunette's eyes widened for a second, then she smiled slightly and nodded, looking at Keitaro with a brief flash of affection in her eyes.

_Hmm, what I wouldn't give to be able to find out what they said._ Kitsune thought, eyeing the pair speculatively. She was unfortunately distracted enough by the two lovebirds that she completely forgot about Motoko and her little gift. As such, the swordswoman capitalized upon the older woman's mistake and snatched the bra from her grasp.

"Aww, no fun," Kitsune pouted, then watched as the rest of the party degenerated into wild antics and food stuffing once all the gifts Keitaro had brought with him were distributed. In fact, as much as the pretty lush wished she could stay awake for the moment when the aforementioned ronin gave his gift to Naru she found that she just could not with all the good food and alcohol in her. It therefore went unnoticed when two figures withdrew themselves from the rest of the party a short time later and both stepped outside of the Hinata Inn and into the cold night air.

"It's a pretty nice night, out, isn't it?" Naru asked suddenly, staring up at the sky. Indeed, Keitaro could do nothing but agree. The clear night air had absolutely no trace of clouds in them, letting the relatively rural area they were in show the young lovers just a glimpse of what treasures the night sky held. It was, to be sure, a little cold, but the young man found he could not complain when the obvious solution to that problem was become a little closer the woman next to him.

Naru blushed at the sudden contact, but did not immediately shy away. In truth, she was quite nervous about how close they were becoming in only a weeks time, but found she could not stand to turn the boy down either. Not to mention the closeness felt damn good to her. And so they walked arm in arm for a while and just enjoyed each other's company. She neither gave no hint that she was curious nor asked him about the large wrapped package he had brought along.

After a while, Naru and Keitaro came to a small park, one that they had visited often in times of trouble or when they needed time to think things through. Now, with the nightly vistas before them, and the quietly romantic mood that was settling over the pair like a soft, warm veil trouble was the last thing on both their minds.

"Naru?"

"Hmm?" The petite woman looked up at her name, a curious expression on her face.

"You know I don't have much, and that I've made you and everyone else go through so much trouble in the last few years." Keitaro stopped for a moment, suddenly having a small itch in the back of his throat. "But…ummm. Well, I'd like for you to have this…you know for thanks and uh, Merry Christmas!"

The poor ronin bowed deeply before the woman that had come to mean so much to him since he had moved to Hinata, his present in his hands before him. Naru accepted quietly, and gave him an affectionate look as she delicately opened the bag.

"Oh! Kei! It's beautiful!" She exclaimed happily, putting the red coat up to her body and admiring it for a few moments before slipping it over her shoulders. "It fits wonderfully too!"

"I'm glad you like it." Keitaro smiled, relieved that he had gotten the moment over with. The smile on Naru's face was exactly the one he had wanted to see and was glad that a small item such as a present could give her such joy, even more so if he had had a hand in it. What he wasn't prepared for was the sudden sensation of her running into his arms and the wet feeling of lips against his. It didn't take long for the young man to realize he was receiving his first honest to goodness romantic kiss, and that he should be enjoying it instead of being shocked.

_She tastes like…cinnamon?_ He wondered right before all of his mental functions shut down and he melted into the pleasantly warm sensation. It seemed like hours before they came up, both looking a little embarrassed, but not quite able to hide the shine in their eyes. As one, they smiled and leaned in for another tender kiss, both not quite ready to head back to the rowdy party yet and ruin what was their first seriously romantic moment in their, so far, brief relationship.

Unbeknownst to the kissing pair, a small part of a larger shadow chose that moment to detach itself, disappearing down the opposite street with fluid grace.

--

Hours later, back at the Inn, Motoko Aoyama stood in front of her mirror staring at the reflection being shown to her. The small amount of moonlight that the paper doors let in made her porcelain white skin almost glow and her black, silky hair cascaded in an un broken line down her back. She slowly traced her hands across her body, felt the shiver of muscle below the surface of her skin, felt the taught ness in her flat and toned stomach. When her hands reached their maximum bend as her calloused hands traced upward, from her petite but strong hips they reversed themselves, palm out to allow one long index finger to dig under the uncomfortable band wrapped around her chest and pull outward what little give the band had.

A slow frown crossed her lips, and she sighed miserably. Her voice left a whisper on the wind as she turned around and unbuckled the clasp in the back and made ready to change into her yukata.

"It's too small."

-->

"Oh, man! I can't believe tomorrow is the day of the center tests!" Keitaro exclaimed, staring at the calendar on the wall behind him. He flopped backwards and ran a hand through his hair distractedly. In his opinion, the days and weeks since the Hinata Inn's Christmas party simply flew by without him, Naru or Mutsumi doing much more than studying. In fact, he could barely remember doing anything alone together with Naru either, which was strange. He sighed, _oh well, it's not like we aren't busy or anything. This is a really important test for both of us!_ That thought did well to console him, if ever he thought that they weren't spending much time on their relationship anymore he would just tell himself that they had more important things to do at the moment.

"But still," he mumbled, looking towards the ceiling and thought about what the girl might be doing now. They had just finished another heavy study session and the late afternoon sun was only just adequately lighting his room. They had both agreed to take a break and grab a bath, snack or whatever they needed to refresh their energy almost an hour ago. Surely she would be done with her bath by now? "Well, only one way to find out." He told himself.

Keitaro lifted himself off the ground and got on top of the table placed strategically below a hole in his ceiling. It took only a few minutes for the young man to gain good enough leverage to knock loudly on the small board that made sure that the hole wasn't always a straight portal into Naru's room.

"Naru? You in there?" he asked, lifting the board a smidgeon but not peeking through just in case.

"Mm," his response was immediate and soon the board was lifted from his fingers and Naru's pretty face was staring back down at him. "What's up?" She asked around a mouthful of manju bun.

"Umm, well, I know we'd said we'd take a break just for a little while…but I was wondering, would you like to go out, you know…to dinner? I'm about to go crazy sitting around the house and I feel like anything I'm going to learn I already stuffed in my head!"

Naru smiled a bit, surprised at the offer but pleased nonetheless. In truth, she was about ready to fall asleep anyway from lack of anything to do. She had already gone over all of her notes twice and felt she could recite them backwards and forwards in her sleep. There was such a thing as studying too much, she supposed, and the opportunity to get out of the house was too much to pass up.

"Sure," she agreed a moment later. "Give me twenty minutes or so to get ready and then we can go."

"Alright, I'll go tell Shinobu that she won't have to worry about us for dinner." Keitaro waved briefly and stepped off the table, almost falling down for a moment when he lost his balance. Once equilibrium was regained he headed out the door and down the stairs to his right, making immediately for the kitchen where he was sure the young resident cook could be found. Sure enough, the junior high school student was just beginning to put on her apron and set out the necessary implements that she would need to prepare the nightly meal.

"Hey Shinobu, looks like I caught you at a good time." Keitaro smile when the pretty little chef turned his way and returned his smile full force.

"Sempai! Is there anything I can do for you? Dinner will be ready in an hour or so."

"Ah, yes, about dinner." The ronin drifted off a bit when Shinobu's smile dropped for a brief moment but he continued doggedly. "Well, Naru and I are going out. I think we're both too tightly wound before this test so I'm going to try and get us both to relax a bit. I think we'll stop by someplace and get something to eat afterwards if you don't mind. So don't worry about setting our spots on the table, alright?" The young girl's smile disappeared a little bit more for a split second, but then she appeared to shake her head quickly, making Keitaro wonder just what was going through her head. Before he could ask about it however, the smile was back and she was nodding her head in agreement.

"Yes, that sounds good, sempai, I'll make sure to remember. I hope you two do really good on your tests tomorrow!"

"So do I, Shinobu, so do I. Thank you for understanding." Keitaro looked at his watch and noted that it was about time to make sure Naru was done with changing, so he turned around and headed back in the direction he came from, waving to the young chef as he went. "We'll be back in a little while!"

"Are you ready?" Keitaro looked up at the voice and spied his girlfriend at the top of the stairs, all ready to go. As she began descending, he noted with pleasure that she was wearing his Christmas gift to her and that her long chestnut hair was intricately braided whereas it was usually just pulled up into a simple ponytail.

"You look good," he commented, smiling a bit and walking beside her as they both stooped to put on shoes and head out the door.

"Thanks, do you have any idea where you want to go?"

"Not really, no." Keitaro rubbed his index finger against his chin for a moment, deep in thought, then he suddenly brightened and looked over at his partner. "Why don't we just walk around for a bit and see what happens from there? It's still early so I think we have plenty of time."

"Sounds good to me," Naru replied in kind, exiting the door that Keitaro held for her. Then without another world the couple stepped out into the chilly early evening and walked down the long steps leading from Hinata Inn.

It was, the young man noted, a perfect time to go out. The sun, while still up, wasn't bright enough to give off any heat whatsoever, making their bundled winter clothes very comfortable. The wind was just light enough so that it gently teased Naru's knee length skirt and sent small tendrils of her hair dancing about her head. Of course, the latter two observations held much more fascination for the young man than anything having to do with the weather.

After an hour or so of walking in the general direction of downtown Hinata, the couple happened to pass by a small area that had been converted into a skating rink for the winter season. There were bonfires set out by the rink side, letting the two know that there was still plenty of people interested in skating. By now, the moon had replaced the sun, and was rising high in the star studded night sky. Though it wasn't quite full, it still gave a romantic enough soft glow that illuminated several nighttime skaters in the middle of the frozen pond.

Naru immediately took interest in this scene, and drug the reluctant Keitaro over to a small stall that rented skates. "Oh, I love ice skating, come on Keitaro let's go!"

The vendor laughed at the cute looking couple and handed them their skates after the young man gave him the proper amount of money. "Have a good time, kids!" He called jovially, waving as they trudged around the lake to get to a relatively empty spot.

"Um, Naru? I think now would be a good time to mention I haven't been on these things since I was young. I don't know if I remember how to keep my balance!" Keitaro, though he was enjoying every minute of Naru's playful personality tonight, was trying to convince himself that he wouldn't end up in traction and have to miss tomorrow's very important tests.

"Oh, it's okay, silly. I still go often enough. Here, let me help you." Naru took both his hands, a fact that made him blush and start to smile like a big idiot. Something that in the pale light, his companion completely missed, thankfully. Once they were steady, she led the reluctant man out on to the ice. There they stood for a couple minutes so Keitaro could get used to the ice and just how much more slippery it was compared to the ground. After an appropriate amount of time, she began to slowly glide backwards, leading the ever-complaining young man along with her.

"There, that's not so bad, is it?" She asked, once they built up a little speed and began to circle around their small corner of the pond, careful to avoid other skaters.

"No, I guess it's not." In fact he was actually beginning to enjoy himself a little bit now that he wasn't afraid to open his eyes. The cool wind felt great on his face, and the smile that Naru wore was absolutely stunning. Minute by minute he was beginning to remember how to skate on ice so that little by little, his girlfriend stopped leading him and settled more by his side. Before long, the couple were skating along as if they had been doing it everyday for the last year, arms linked around each other's waists.. They still kept mostly to their small corner of the pond, but did occasionally make forays out into the middle with the rest of the skaters.

"Oh! Look at the cute couple!" Commented one particular girl, along with her friends. They swooned a bit at the close position that Naru and Keitaro held each other in while skating, noises that once they drifted close enough the couple could hear. Once she figured out that they were the center of attention and everybody was beginning to stare, Naru began to get a little nervous and tried to pull away slightly. Poor Keitaro, in his own little world, did not feel the signs of her withdrawing and as such, when the cute fuss being made over them got a little too loud in the young woman's opinion she forcefully shoved the young man away. A shove, that perhaps used too much force.

"What did I do?" Keitaro asked in a panic as he was sent rocketing away from Naru and towards the bank. He struggled to regain his balance when he noticed that the side of the pond was coming a little too fast but before he could right himself down he went into a snow drift almost as large as he was, leaving only his legs dangling out a bit.

Once she got over the separation shock, and the fussing became laughter, Naru opened her eyes and looked around confusedly. She couldn't figure out what had happened to Keitaro until her eyes fell upon a pair if struggling, disembodied legs. "Keitaro!" She realized in a rush that she might have used a little too much force and sped over to his location to try and help him out.

Once she arrived, Naru grasped a hold of the boys legs and pulled, making him come loose with a sudden jolt that sent both young people down hard against the ice. "Are you alright, Keitaro?" Naru cried, struggling over to her fallen boyfriend, wondering if he would be mad at her for shoving him away suddenly. It appeared, to her relief that he was no worse for wear though, and merely smiled at her and put his hand on the back of his head.

"Boy, I guess I still was out of practice, hunh?" He asked, not mentioning the shoving incident at all.

"Silly, come on, let's go get some dinner." Naru merely shook her head at her boyfriend's antics, and led him off the ice where the promptly changed into their shoes and returned the rented skates. A little while later they had both managed to find a restaurant that agreed with both pallet and budget and were sitting down under a small lit umbrella, admiring the crowds as they walked by the little café they had agreed upon.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" Naru asked suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence held between them since they had sat down. She played with her water glass straw a little bit while Keitaro thought about his answer.

"Not really," he finally told her, looking out towards the people passing the young diners. "I guess I know pretty much everything I'm going to know…but I guess I still feel a little nervous because while not the real thing this one does get us into the real thing."

"I know." Naru agreed, bowing her head slightly and making her bangs fall over her eyes. "It seems like we've been studying forever to get to this spot. And the outcome of tomorrow and the next day will make it either all worth it or a waste."

"Well, either outcome I wouldn't call it a waste." Keitaro turned to his companion and smiled a bit at her questioning glance. He hesitantly stuck out his hand and covered it with his and softly rubbed Naru's fingers in a way he hoped was comforting. "After all, I got to spend almost all of that studying time with you, didn't I?"

Naru found that she could not say anything in response to those heartfelt words. It felt like she was falling and never could hope to recover. No other person had made her feel this good about herself since…well, forever and it was a heady feeling indeed. While one side of her rejoiced at this feeling, coming deep within her heart another side of her was trying hard to clamp down on the rising panic. Fortunately, their dinner came a few moments later and she quickly used the excuse to separate her hand from is and begin eating the meal. While they were eating, the topics were kept light, ranging from practice problems to the nice weather they were having lately, neither really willing to bring up such a heavy topic again, for different reasons. Once the meal was finished and the bill was paid, however, they found that their thoughts could not stay away from the upcoming tests anymore.

"Have you ever thought about what you were going to study once you get into Toudai?" Keitaro asked once the couple were walking back home, hand in hand.

Naru looked at the sky and smiled a bit, confident in the answer as she had been thinking about that a lot lately. "I had been kind of hoping to go into education, honestly."

This fact did not surprise the young man one bit, as she had been more than instrumental in his own studying, giving him hints and tricks without giving away the answer. Everything was found out through his own means, she just helped along the path. That, to him, was a sure sign of a born teacher.

"What about you?" Keitaro stumbled at the question, not really sure what to say. When he first started he had pretty much just chose a random subject, Law, and it had turned out to be one the hardest programs to get into. Now that he was working part time for Seta, however, he found his thoughts drifted more and more towards archeology. Though once he checked out the particulars of the program, it was ironically more difficult to get into than the law program! But he was reasonably sure he loved that line of work and found to his surprise that the difficulty of the track did not bother him overly much. To Naru, he merely shrugged. "I guess I've been going more and more towards archeology. It's difficult, but I think I can do it."

Naru smiled, pleased at his answer for some reason. Further conversation was cut off as the pair reached the steps that led up to the inn. They looked up the long staircase for a moment, then turned to face each other. "Well, no matter what happens I'll always be here for you." Keitaro smiled. "I had a really nice time tonight Naru. I hope you do well on the test tomorrow…no I know you will do well. I'll meet you afterwards and you and Mutsumi and I can compare answers, alright?"

Naru merely nodded and began walking up the steps and their waiting beds. It seemed like only moments later they were saying goodnight in front of Keitaro's room, as it looked as if every one had not waited up for the pair, which was a good thing in her estimation. When Naru had finally reached her room and changed, she was more than tired from their wonderful date, the worry about tomorrow seemed to be almost forgotten under their little date and she smiled briefly. Placing her glasses next to her bed, she laid her head on her pillow and whispered quietly, "Goodnight Keitaro."

--

"Oi! Part-timer!" Keitaro looked up at the sound of his name and smiled when he spotted his mentor strolling over towards him through the crowds of kids heading in the opposite direction. He quickly returned the older man's wave and called out a greeting of his own. "I thought you would be over here," Seta said, once he got within audible range. "How did the first day of tests go for you?"

"I think they went well," the young man commented lightly, blushing a bit at his confidence. "I was just waiting for Naru and Mutsumi to come out of their classroom so I can find out how they did."

Seta's smile merely widened and he gave his part timer an appraising look. "I'm sure they did well, what with all the preparations I heard you guys went through. But, I actually have something to ask you, Urashima, and I was hoping you could give me a little bit of your time while you're waiting?"

Keitaro puzzled over that statement a bit before looking back in the direction that his two friends were supposed to be coming from. Seeing no sign of them yet, he figured he was safe for the time being. "Sure , why don't we go over there?" He pointed to a quiet classroom of to their right. The school they were using for the test was huge, and had many classrooms that were too small to be used by the test takers wandering around the halls. The small one that was nearest them would do well for a private conversation.

"So, what can I do for you?" Keitaro asked, once that had entered the classroom and closed the door behind them.

"Well, part of it depends on your performance here at the center tests. The other part depends on you. But I did want to ask just in case." Seta smiled a bit at Keitaro's confusion. "I just had one of my dig workers get injured. He was a good member of my team and one I cannot afford to lose on a dig that I'm preparing to go to, so I'm in a bit of a pinch right now. I need someone to come along with me that already has knowledge of what we do and how we operate. The only other person I can think of is you."

Keitaro rocked back on his heels for a moment, shocked at the question his mentor was asking him. But it only took him a moment to make up his mind. "I'd love to! When do you leave?"

Seta hesitated a bit, the first time that Keitaro had ever seen the normally happy-go-lucky man do so. "Well, that's the thing. We leave the fifteenth of February and don't return until right before the school term begins."

"The…fifteenth?" Keitaro whispered, well aware that that date was at least a week before the scheduled Toudai entrance exams. If he agreed to go on this dig and help Seta out, he wouldn't be able to take the exams! Meaning, he wouldn't be able to get in for another year. The words echoed around in his head until he got a right thorough headache from them. But right before he was about to think he would go insane, Seta rescued him from his plight.

"I am aware that the date is before your entrance exam, Urashima, and as a special favor to me I asked the board that if you passed your center exams they'd allow me to proctor your test right at the dig site. They agreed, further, they had also agreed that if I'd give you a positive recommendation from your work at the site that they would automatically consider you for the archeology school. It's a big deal, Part-timer and I didn't want to speak on your behalf."

"Umm, thanks." That was about as much as Keitaro could think to get out, the implications of this question finally dawning on him. It was the key to his future, really. Seta was giving him a way to almost bypass the incredibly difficult test required to get into the Archeology school. All he had to do was pass the general entrance exam and do well on this dig and it was practically a shoe in! But what about Naru? Would she be disappointed that he wouldn't be able to attend the test with her? As if the very thought of the girl led her to check the classroom, Naru and Mutsumi poked their heads in at that moment, spying Keitraro easily in the empty classroom.

"There you are! We were beginning to get worried!" Naru came over to the pair, then politely bowed to Seta, her cheeks not quite able to control the blush that appeared at the sight of her former crush. "Hello Seta."

"Ah, Naru, and Mutsumi as well. Hello girls!" Seta waved affably at the pair, a wave that Mutsumi returned with enthusiasm. "Why don't you think on it a few days part-timer. I'll be waiting for your answer." With that, the archeology professor waved one final time and stepped out the door and disappeared into the crowd of students. Naru took one look at Keitaro's thoughtful expression and stepped in front of him imperiously.

"Think about what?"

--

"Whoa! That's heavy!" Kitsune exclaimed around the dinner table that night, once Keitaro had told the news to everybody. "This is good news, right?" She asked a moment later, looking around the table and wondering why a few people had such glum faces.

"Well, yeah. I think it is," Keitaro added quietly. Naru merely huffed at his answer and turned away. "This means that if I play my cards right I am a shoe in for the archeology department when I decide to formally declare my major. Seta will proctor my exam so it's not like I won't be taking the entrance exam." He hesitated for a moment before going on. "I'll just be taking it in the middle of the pacific ocean, that's all."

At this point, Naru's anger revealed itself and she slammed her hands down on the table, making all of the residents jump and stare at her with wide eyes. "And what about our promise, hunh? It means nothing if we don't actually take the test together! You'll be leaving almost the week before the tests! How in the world are you going to be able to properly concentrate in the middle of this dig if you can't even get your act together in the middle of a quiet classroom!"

"Naru, please, this is very important to me! Can't you see that this could mean that everything I wanted could be right within my grasp?" Keitaro was begging his girlfriend to understand, he needed her to understand just how much this meant to him to go on this dig. "You know I'm not very smart, and that I get distracted easily. If I can do **anything** to make sure that my life at Toudai is easier I've got to take advantage of it."

The residents, as if watching a ping pong match, switched their heads back in forth between Naru and Keitaro, eager to see what would come of this argument. Though they were loathe to interfere, Keitaro's points were beginning to make more and more sense to each of the other girls.

"I think Kei has a point though, don't you Naru?" Kitsune added, daring to interrupt the couple's quarrel. The young man in question gave her a look full of relief before bringing his eyes back to his girlfriend. She didn't seem to take the siding very well, unfortunately.

"Stay out of this Kitsune," she growled. "He needs to be here to take the test otherwise he has no chance at all."

"Says you!" Keitaro added, speaking before he fully thought through everything he was going to say. "I know I'm not the most guided man alive but this is something I really want! I think I'll do just fine no matter where I am as long as I keep that in mind."

"I agree," Motoko spoke up, then looked around when all the other shot her surprised looks. "What? I think that if Urashima can commit to his archeology then perhaps that will be enough to overcome his flighty behavior in the classroom. He needs discipline and focus, maybe his goals will do that for him."

Naru, completely outgunned now that even the woman that hated getting involved in anything got involved, deflated and turned on her heel. "Well, who's to say he won't even get past tomorrow's center exam? We'll see what tomorrow's outcome will be and then maybe he will come down a peg or two." With that she stormed out of the room and stomped upstairs, leaving a completely quiet dinner table in her wake.

"Well, that didn't go well, did it?" Keitaro asked quietly before getting up and taking his and Naru's plate to the sink. "Don't worry about the dishes tonight, Shinobu. I'll get them, I have a lot to think about and I might as well do something to distract my hands while thinking." He smiled a smile that seemed to only go skin deep at the young chef and took her plate from her hands, despite her protests.

One by one the other residents cleared the table, most avoiding Keitaro and the black cloud that seemed to suddenly appear over his head. Kitsune though, being the last one to leave and knowing that the young man's heart was in the balance patted his shoulders comfortingly. "Don't worry, she'll come around. I think she just doesn't want to lose you so quickly right after you guys got together and everything, that's all." She didn't wait for him to answer, just walked out of the room after that hoping that everything will be resolved on it's own.

The next day, Naru was not surprised to find that Keitaro had not waited for her after the tests and took off for home along with Mutsumi. In truth, she was agonizing over the argument they had had last night and wanted to tell him she was sorry, but her stubborn side just wouldn't let it go. She kept telling herself that he wasn't abandoning her, that he was just following his dream. But a small part of her kept nagging her that she, as his possible promise girl, was also his dream and though he had seemed not to forget about that on the surface…the unshakable belief that they would get into Toudai together seemed to be crumbling. What good was it after all, if he were a thousand miles away to take the test? They were supposed to be together through it all, weren't they?

It wasn't until very late that night that Keitaro got home, after a very long conversation with Yuki. He immediately locked himself in his room with the local newspaper, which prints the solutions for the exam, and began self-scoring his test. Both he and Naru wouldn't know the official results until three days from now when their study hall released the official test scores but for now, the self score would provide an accurate picture of what the results would be. Earlier that day, Naru had gotten a 790, a decent score and one that should easily make the cut off. Therefore it came down to Keitaro, and once everyone knew what he was doing they gathered around the lounge area, waiting to hear the news.

An hour or so after he returned, he stepped into the room, looking grim. Based on his expression all the girls feared the worst, especially Naru, whom now doubly regretted saying the things she said to him last night. She knew how little self confidence he had in himself, what if her doubt he would pass the center exam was the deal killer? She wouldn't be able to live with the guilt if that were the case.

"Well, I have some good news," Keitaro said solemnly, placing his paper down for everyone to see as well as putting to rest the possibility that he failed. It came as no surprise, then, that when they finally determined that he had actually gotten an 800 on the test what the 'good news' meant. The young man tried to catch Naru's eyes before he continued with his announcement, but when he failed to do so he forced himself to continue. "I know that I have caused a lot of trouble for you guys these past two years, and I'm glad to have gotten to know each and every one of you over my tenure here. It comes without saying that I'm going to miss you all, and though I'll be gone only for about a month or so it will still feel like a terrible length of time. I'll do all I can to make sure everything is working properly before I leave, but it goes without saying that this is something that is very important to me, and I realize that I have to take every advantage I can get to make sure that I can make all of you proud. In other words, I have decided I will go with Seta on his expedition."

It seemed that no matter how loud the congratulations came, for Keitaro they still could not drown out the sound of Naru quietly getting up and walking out of the room.

--

"Mr. Toritsuku will see you now." The young man raised his head at the voice and smiled his thanks as he stepped over the threshold and into the room behind the secretary. He silently gave a whistle at the decorations contained within the office suite. Though he had been in this room several times before the number of artifacts and historical items that were on display always impressed the young man. Silently, he took the long walk from the door to the desk at the other end and gave the older businessman a brief appraisal.

Mr. Toritsuku was a man of materials that much was certain. He was standard, as far as middle aged affluent Japanese men were concerned: black hair that showed just a hint of a receding hair line, Narrow brown eyes that didn't look like they missed much and a skin that was a light brown showing just the beginnings of wrinkles around the mouth and eyes. His suit, the visitor noted were impeccably designed in the Italian style that was quite popular with most corporate execs these days. Upon his entrance, the exec spared his visitor a disdainful look.

"Well, do you have them?" His voice was smooth and rich, the indication of a good education and the visitor smiled at the sound of it. He slowly pulled out a manila envelope from the beige trench coat he was wearing and tossed it on the desk in front of him. There was a brief pause before Toritsuku opened the envelope and pulled out several eight by ten glossy pictures.

"It seems that Mr. Noriyasu has found himself a partner once again," the visitor noted, as the man he gave the photos to looked over them several times. The pictures were all of professional quality and all showed one single man with a mop of brown hair, large glasses and a huge grin in various settings. Even more spectacular was the last image that showed the young man walking out of a crater that was shaped exactly like he was, not an apparent scratch on him. Toritsuku's eyebrows rose at the last one and gave his visitor a critical stare.

"Seems like the lad has a penchant for getting himself into trouble that is second only to his amazing ability to survive the trouble he gets into," chuckled the visitor.

"Yes, it does seem that way, doesn't it?" Toristuku rubbed his chin in apparent fascination. "I think he will be a most interesting challenge. A most worthy challenge indeed." He then turned his attention back to the man standing before him, throwing a smaller envelope at him. "Thank you once again for your services, please continue to keep me updated."

"As you wish," the young man bowed gracefully and backed out of the room, only once he was in the elevator and heading back down did he open his envelop and begin counting the many bills inside. "One of the most interesting cases yet," he chuckled to himself before throwing up a roll of film in the air and catching it lazily. The elevator dinged, letting him know he had hit ground floor where he promptly exited and disappeared into the crowd of daily workers.

**End Chapter 2**


	3. Part 1, Chapter 3

_**A Note from the Author: **Hello once again and thank you for reading. This, originally, was supposed to be the final chapter of this part but I found that I could not write everything I wanted to write within the time frame I set so I decided to release the finale of part 1 in two slightly smaller parts rather than one bigger than usual part. Though this chapter may seem a bit slow, the next should make up for it. Everything kind of gets explained there. This is the beginning of the temporary end of the Yuki arc in my story, but she will be returning later on in part two so don't worry. As for as anything else for chapter four, look for the Toritsuku arc to begin taking in steam, the Naru-Keitaro arc to really blow up and a new angle enter the fray. Until then, please enjoy this next installment and don't forget to leave a review. All standard disclaimers apply._

**The Wisdom of Snow**

**Part 1, Chapter 3**

**Author: Garasu**

Keitaro woke slowly, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he fought the terribly nice option of just sleeping in for once. Yesterday was so hectic, scoring his test then having to tell the girls that he had decided to go along with Seta and his dig. His eyes drifted to the hole in the ceiling above him and he instantly thought of the young woman that was sleeping just on the other side of the ceiling. She didn't take it too well, and it was killing him that he didn't have an opportunity to talk with her before she went to bed. The young man sighed. It wasn't like he was doing it on purpose or anything! He actually would have loved nothing more than to stay with Naru right up to the real test. She had somehow become a rock in his life, keeping him grounded when everything else around him was flying by.

_Somehow, she'll have to understand, _he thought miserably, not liking the prospect of convincing her to come around one bit. He groaned then, picking his aching body up off his futon and quickly stored it before getting ready for the long day ahead.

"Good morning Shinobu," he yawned in greeting ten minutes later as he walked into the kitchen. Apparently he was the only one up besides the young chef as well as Motoko, who could be always counted on to beat just about anybody to breakfast table. "Motoko." He extended his greeting to the kendoka and received a brief acknowledgment from the swordswoman as he sat down at his familiar place at the head of the table before having a plate of fried eggs and ham in front of him.

"Good morning, Sempai," Shinobu answered politely once she had placed the plate of food in front of her idol. "Did you sleep well last night?"

Keitaro merely smiled politely. "Well, not really, considering all the stuff that has happened lately." He shrugged indifferently when the young girl made a sympathetic noise, looking at the ronin with something close to understanding. "But I guess half of the hard stuff is already done and I just have to make sure I don't screw up anything from now until I leave."

"I'm sure you will do fine," Shinobu said lightly, smiling as brightly as she could. A humble throat cough from Motoko brought both the resident and the manager glancing in her direction, surprised at the fact that they had almost forgotten the swordswoman was there.

"Yes, Motoko? Is there something you need?" Keitaro asked in concern.

"Erm, no," she replied politely, then hesitated a moment. She looked as if she was about to swallow a fly judging by the way that her face screwed up unpleasantly, which only brought the ronin's concern to a higher level. "I just…wished to congratulate on your test results yesterday, that is all. I hope that this dig will bring you focus." She trailed off uncertainly, eyes drifting to the table before her when a light blush colored her cheeks.

Keitaro blinked, not at all expecting anything remotely like that from the stoic young woman. Fortunately, he recovered his composure very well. "Thanks, Motoko, that means a lot coming from you. I certainly hope this dig works out as well."

Much to the relief of both of them, they were spared any further conversation with the entrance of Su and Naru together. The energetic blonde went straight to her plate and began digging in but Naru, it seemed had something else on her mind. She came to a rest just to the right of Keitaro and waited for him to look up at her before beginning.

"Umm, I thought about what I said last night a really long time," she said softly, rubbing her foot against the floorboards and refusing to meet his eye. "And I just wanted you to know that I'm not mad anymore. I know this is really important to you and I want you to do whatever makes you happy."

Keitaro sat there stunned, not expecting Naru to bridge the subject first. Indeed, with Motoko's strange congratulations and now Naru's behavior it was beginning to become quite the interesting breakfast. Never one to hold a grudge for long, the young man merely patted his girlfriend's hand in an understanding gesture and smiled at her.

"This **is** really important to me," he replied a moment later. "I promise I won't let you down. We'll still go to Tokyo U together, you'll see."

"You'd better not," his girlfriend agreed, once again making one her lightening fast mood changes. "If you manage to fail this time I'll make sure you'll regret it." She slapped her fist into her palm meaningfully, but then winked at just the right angle so that only the Keitaro could see it, letting him know that she was teasing him. Any moment that could have formed between the two, however, was instantly dispelled with the sound of a chair scrapping on wood.

"Well, I believe that I am finished." Motoko stood suddenly, bringing her dishes over to the sink before turning to the young blonde foreigner. "Su, hurry up and get ready, we don't wish to be late."

"Right behind ya!" The energetic blonde saluted, gobbling up the rest of her breakfast in a blink of an eye before jumping off her chair and following the swordswoman out the kitchen door dragging Shinobu along with her. Naru and Keitaro both looked at each other and blushed, suddenly realizing that they had been left quite alone.

"Um," Keitaro said in the following silence, staring at his companion as she gracefully went through her breakfast. "Did you have any plans for today? Besides studying I mean." He finished lamely, trying to look her in the eye, but failing miserably.

"No, not really. Why, did you?"

Keitaro merely shook his head. "No just that I'd maybe go for a walk or something to get some fresh air before I go up to my room. There's so much to do before the real exam that I don't even want to think of it right now."

"Tell me about it," Naru agreed, finishing her breakfast after one more quick bite and then brought her dishes to the sink and piled them up with all the rest. "Though I think I may got take a bath or something before I hit the books." She hesitated a second before continuing nervously on shortly after. "You want to join me for a joint study session today?"

"That would be perfect I think." Keitaro gave Naru a smile that set her face flaming and she turned away after only a second of it. "By the time you finish your bath I'll have the dishes done and get some fresh air real fast. What say I meet you in your room in…" he looked at his watch, "an hour and half? I think that should give you enough time to get anything else you to get done this morning."

"I'll see you then," she answered before walking out the door and towards her bedroom, intent on getting her bathing things. Keitaro merely sighed happily once before getting up and walking over to the pile of dishes that lay waiting for him and set about quickly making the pile disappear.

---

"Ah, Yuki! Fancy meeting you here." Keitaro pulled up short when he arrived at the small park he always found himself wandering to when he found his young friend sitting on one of the swings, absently swinging back and forth slowly. She turned at the sound of his voice and smiled.

"Yes, I often come here to sit and think," she replied quietly.

"May I join you?" He asked, indicating the empty swing next to her and at her nod sat down and began rocking back and forth as well; letting his thoughts wander to nothing in particular.

They sat there for a few minutes, just enjoying the quiet solitude around them before the silver-haired girl broke the silence, looking at her companion with an apprehensive expression on her face. "How did last night go?"

"Hmm? Oh, it went all right I suppose. Mostly everybody took it well enough. Some even surprised me."

"I see, and Naru?"

Keitaro fidgeted, the memories of last night and her walking out of the room right after his announcement temporarily making him frown. He sighed and shook his head, clearing the vision before it had a chance to truly take hold. "She didn't take as well as I hoped. Though we talked about it briefly this morning and she apologized for that, so I guess it's okay for now."

Yuki didn't respond to that, merely looked down towards the ground and continued swinging once again. Though the sun was out, it was bitterly cold this morning, making every breath the pair took send small puffs of white from their mouths. She contemplated those breaths for a moment, how it only lasted for a second or two before it was gone. They also served to remind her of just what had been distracting her lately. The apprehensive frown on her face deepened a trifle and she turned towards her friend once again.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Somehow sensing the deepening mood, Keitaro nodded and gave his friend his full attention. "Sure, you can ask me anything you want."

Yuki hesitated a moment, drawing Keitaro further towards concern for his friend. In all the times that he could remember, the pretty young woman had never been this withdrawn and serious. Yes, they had had their disagreements, especially when it came to discussing his tenants, but the feeling he was getting now was unheard of within the span of their relationship. He paused further thoughts on that particular subject when she began speaking.

"Do you remember what I told you the day Naru confessed her feelings for you?" Keitaro blinked in response, wondering why she would bring up that particular memory. Of course he remembered it, as it was one of the few times he had actually ignored the girl before him and went against her advice. That in and of itself was enough to drive the memory deep within his psyche.

"Yeah, I do," Keitaro responded cautiously, curious as to what made Yuki bring that particular day up. "You told me that it was perhaps not the best idea to go up and follow her. Though I can't imagine why you'd say something like that, I'm glad that it worked out in the end."

Yuki looked down at her hands, clasped as they were in her lap. She hated these moments, really. Moments that made someone sick to their stomach because they had to say something that they knew their best friend in the entire world wasn't going to like. "But… what if it didn't work out?" She asked quietly.

"Hmm?" Keitaro, for the life of him could not figure out what she could possibly mean by that statement. Why in the world would she possibly think Naru finally confessing her feelings for him would not be a good thing? Keitaro paused…well, okay; it wasn't like his study partner had told him she loved him or anything like that. Though he knew where his feelings were in regards to the brunette, he understood that things like love took time. On the opposite side of the coin, he had been in love with Naru almost from the start. When they're eyes met right after she had slipped over a bar of soap and landed on him was the deal sealer for him and he knew that. Keitaro understood that while he was prone to falling in love rather quickly, for such a person like himself, accident prone and clumsy as he was, it would take a little more than a moment for someone like Naru to return the favor towards him. He felt confident that those feelings would come in time though…wouldn't they?

Yuki, taking Keitaro's sudden thoughtful expression as a sign to continue to explain her feelings on the matter, managed to find her voice once again. "Think about it Kei, has anything really changed between you two? Has she stopped sending you into Tokyo with her punch just because you two are dating?"

Keitaro felt his ire rise at the mention of the few incidents that had sent him skyward since he and Naru had begun dating. "No, not really anyway…but that's okay! I know I'm a klutz and grabbed or saw something I shouldn't have. That's the way it's always been. I don't expect her to stop that anymore than I expect myself to stop being such an idiot all the time."

Yuki pulled up short, disturbed by the direction Keitaro was going. He certainly wasn't at fault whenever Naru decided to not listen to him! "Kei, listen to yourself! You're not at fault and you know it! Why do you continue to defend her actions against you when you could possibly be hurt by it?"

"Because, Yuki, that's the kind of person I am," Keitaro said, shortly. "I know Naru likes me and that she wouldn't do anything to hurt me. She punches me because she's just really stubborn and because she knows I can handle it. The same goes for Motoko. If I were anything less, they wouldn't react as violently as they do."

"Then what about the first time Naru ever sent you skyward? Did she know that you wouldn't be killed or seriously injured then?"

Keitaro was briefly taken back by that thought. It was true…there was no way Naru could have known that he was practically immortal and able to take anything she could dish out. But…maybe she just didn't know her own strength? "She just didn't know her own strength…I'm sure it shocked her too that she could send someone flying with that punch of hers."

Yuki looked skeptical. "And Motoko then?" When she didn't receive an answer, Yuki cautiously approached her friend, placing one delicate hand on his forearm. "Look, Kei…I know that you love Naru…all I'm saying is that maybe…"

She didn't get a chance to finish, the look that Keitaro sent her that moment didn't allow her to do so. At once he looked pained, betrayed, and resigned all at once. It made her throat constrict instantly until not even a squeak could be managed.

The young man calmly removed his friend's hand from his arm and spoke with a low voice, not carrying much anger, but just enough of an edge to make sure his point was well taken. "Yuki…I like you. You've been a friend when I've desperately needed one. You haven't judged me in any way shape or form and for that I thank you. But…I **love** them. All of them. I can't help what situations that I get myself into, nor can I help how they deal with it. But I will never, **ever** abandon them. I am happy with Naru, I'm sure she can be happy with me as well if I just give her time and show her in my own way that I care for her greater than anything else on this earth." Keitaro began to walk away then, returning back towards the inn and his waiting study partner, feeling he had said everything he could on the matter.

"Keitaro wait!" Yuki cried, falling to her knees when her legs refused to take the necessary steps to follow the young man. He paused briefly, turned just enough around so that she could see tear tracks running down his face, a reflection of her own broken hearted expression.

"Yuki, I don't think it would be a good idea for us to see each other for a while. We can talk about this after I've had some time to think." With that, he turned away again and walked on, trying to be oblivious to sound of sobbing as he left the park.

A few minutes later, Keitaro finally reached the steps of Hinata Inn. As he looked up the steep incline and the many steps that would take him to the front door his thoughts finally began to catch up with him. Maybe he had been too hard on Yuki? She didn't seem like she was trying to be mean, after all. But how could she just bring up that stuff about the girls like that? Sure, they never often allowed him to explain himself, and even when he could get some sort of explanation across he wasn't believed. But Keitaro found that considering the frequency that he often got himself into trouble even he would have a hard time believing they were accidents too. Still, things were getting better, weren't they? Instead of being sent to the far reaches of the sky at least once a day, he was down to about three or four times a week. That was good news, wasn't it?

Keitaro shook his head violently. No, things were getting better; he had to keep telling himself that. Yuki was wrong; she just needed time to realize that. He didn't really want to lose his friend, but he knew it was important to show her that she was wrong by making it work with Naru. He was happy, and the sooner his friend realized that the sooner they could get back to normal. With that final thought, he launched himself up the steps, ready for a long day of studying with his girlfriend. If they were going to make it to Tokyo University together, they needed to be at the top of their form. Not to mention he only had a little more than two weeks left to be with Naru before he left for the dig. Yes, there was not time for slouching or distractions now.

---

The two weeks that Keitaro had left, it seemed, decided to pass in the blink of an eye. Before the young ronin knew it was February the thirteenth and he was busy scrambling around trying to make sure that everything he needed to take with him on the fifteenth was readily available, if not already packed. He was so busy trying to make sure everything was in order, in fact that he completely overlooked the fact that it was also the day before Valentine's Day. So it came as a complete surprise to him that morning when he walked into the kitchen to find Shinobu retrieving a few molds from an upper cabinet.

"Good morning Shinobu, what do you have there?" Keitaro peeked over the girls shoulder and blinked in curiosity when she suddenly jumped a foot in the air and turned around quickly, shoving what she was holding behind her.

"Ah! G-good morning sempai! Did you sleep well?" Keitaro's curiosity was further piqued when he noticed that the young chef was blushing furiously and her feet were nervously sliding along the floor in front of her.

"Yes, I did, as a matter of fact," he replied congenially, his smile widened further when the synapses in his brain finally snapped in place and he remembered what those particular molds were for. "Going to make some chocolate?"

Shinobu started and widened her eyes like a deer caught in headlights. "Why…why would you say that?" She asked nervously, her hands behind her back beginning to twitch.

Keitaro waved a hand in the air carelessly. "Oh, I just recognized those old chocolate molds you were getting down." Suddenly he straightened and his smile faded completely. "Wait a minute…I leave on the fifteenth and it's February now…so that means…" Keitaro slapped his forehead then, the resounding smack echoing well in the kitchen. "Holy crap! I forgot it's Valentine's Day tomorrow! How could I have forgotten my ritual? Now what am I going to do!"

The poor man panicked for a minute before one sensible thought was allowed into his brain. He had a girlfriend…he didn't have to worry about chocolate this year for once! Surely Naru would be giving him some as a present. She did, after all, give him some last year and they weren't even together then. He gave a mental sigh of relief, though it did feel strange not having to make his own confections this year. To tell the honest truth he had gotten quite good at making anything from chocolate and his creations were always the talk of the school when he brought them in. It shamed him to think that he had to do such a thing as make his own Valentine chocolate for only a minute though. In the cutthroat world of high school, one had to take every opportunity they could to make sure they weren't seen as a loser after all.

Shinobu, who had watched the strange behavior of the manager, began to sweat nervously when it appeared that he was panicking about something or another. Then, strangely, he seemed to calm down and regained his footing. He gave the girl a soft smile and patted her on the head affectionately.

"Don't worry Shinobu, I'm sure whoever receives that chocolate will love it," he told her confidently. He received a shy blush in return, which only made him smile wider.

"Do you think so?" She asked breathlessly. The poor clueless ronin had no idea that it was actually him that would be doing the receiving.

"Definitely. But now, if you'll excuse me I think I just remembered something I have to pack for my trip. I'll be back down again for lunch!" Keitaro waved goodbye to the young girl before he strode out the door in which he had come in, and back up the stairs. Once he was gone, the young girl gave a sigh of relief and turned back towards her task at hand. This year, she was going to give her sempai the world's most perfect chocolate and she was going to do it first! Soon, the busy sounds of confection making were coming from the kitchen and above all that a happy little tune was hummed in between mixing in perfect harmony with the busy noises.

At that very same moment in time, someone with somewhat less skills in the culinary world was currently trying to make a very tough decision upon all the materials in front of her. Motoko had never really participated in these silly little modern customs with only last year being an exception to the rule. But unlike last year, where she just threw something in her shopping basket on impulse and for politeness sake, she felt she had a real reason to get something nice for the manager. He had, after all, helped her with her training when he had no obligation to do so or so she told herself. If it weren't for him then the 'cutting evil strike' would have never been added to her repertoire. Or at least it would have taken her a lot longer to perfect it if Keitaro hadn't motivated her. So for that, she found herself shopping the aisles and aisles of Valentine goodies, trying to find something that would be suitable.

"Can I help you find something, Miss?"

Motoko was taken from her ruminations rather abruptly by the sound of a perky salesgirl behind her. She turned quickly and blushed as if she were caught in the act of doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing.

"Um, I..uh, am not sure," she hastily replied, flustered at the realization that she should really ask for help. There was no way, with her current knowledge of foreign customs being as it was, that she would be able to find an appropriate gift for Keitaro. Fortunately for her, the salesgirl seemed to take that as a 'yes' and smiled brightly. Unfortunately for the stoic swordswoman, she totally misinterpreted the reason for buying the gift.

"Searching for the right gift for your boyfriend, then?" Her smile doubled and she cocked her head to the side. "We have a great selection of romantic gifts over in the next aisle."

Motoko's brain seemed to short out at the mention of 'boyfriend' and 'romantic gift' in the same sentence so it took her a few moments to correct the girl in regards to her intentions. When she finally did manage to pull together a few coherent thoughts she waved her hands in front of her face, an embarrassed blush setting her cheeks aflame.

"No…you have the wrong idea. He's not a boyfriend."

The salesclerk sat back on her heels for a moment and blinked. "Not a boyfriend?" She repeated confusedly, as if the very idea that Motoko was not shopping for her significant other was an absurd idea. Then, her face brightened again, as if a light bulb was just switched on over her head. "Ah, then you must be seeking a way to make that someone special notice you! I have just the thing!"

Motoko tripped further over the girl's conclusion jumping but found she had no time to correct the energetic clerk as the young girl grabbed her hand and led her off to another aisle, giggling all the while about how the guy she was interested in would certainly notice her after receiving one of their special gift sets. Finally, the pair arrived at their destination and Motoko marveled at the sheer number of chocolate and all it's derivations before her. She had no idea that so many things could be made from just one substance!

Stealthily, the clerk shifted her way down the crowded aisle and stuck her hand in between two giggling girls. She came out a moment later with a small box of chocolates in a pretty box. Before Motoko could say anything otherwise, the sweets were handed over to her and the clerk looked on with an expression of glittering pride.

"These are our best ones! Hand made in Belgium and guaranteed to please the pallet. Not as rich or dark as some of the other stuff that comes from Europe so they should taste great, even if he is not a real big fan of chocolate."

By this time, Motoko still couldn't find her head and clutched the box of sweets close to her. "Um…thank you?" She managed to mumble before turning around and heading for the cashier aisle with a slightly overwhelmed expression on her face. The girl waved happily in return.

"Good luck! I know he will notice you! Oh, and don't forget to visit our complimentary gift wrapping desk after you pay for those!" She called after the wide-eyed girl before sighing happily. "Ah, love is in the air!"

Motoko, though far from romantic thoughts, or any thoughts for that matter, still managed to remember to visit the gift wrapping desk before she left. It was only after she left the store and was on her way home once again that she wondered why she even bothered to get involved in these silly modern customs anyway.

The rest of the day passed pretty easily for everyone else, as they spent a leisurely Sunday just relaxing and enjoying the crisp, cool air. Though one girl in particular found that as the day progressed she was getting more and more nervous about the project she had planned for the night time hours. Naru knew that she was no gourmet cook, and that anything she could make would in no way come out as good as Shinobu could make it, but she was determined to make something special for Keitaro this year. Naturally, since it also happened to be Valentine's Day tomorrow that something special would be chocolate. Though the young Toudai hopeful had in no way ever made chocolate before, she was certain that between the cookbook she had picked up and her own natural intelligence she could manage to put something together.

Finally, her moment came when all of the other residents had gone to bed she stayed up, pretending that she had wanted to look over something more for her studying. With all other lights out, Naru went about her business in the kitchen, relatively sure of her being undisturbed for the rest of the night.

"All right, girl, let's give this a shot!" She cheered herself on as she rolled up her sleeves and cracked her recipe book to the page she had marked. "First thing's first, make sure everything is ready." Naru looked around her small setup, locating the mold, the piping bag and the various other utensils the book said she'd need. "Check. Next, fill pot with water and bring to boil."

And so it went, for the next three hours Naru tried her hardest, applied everything she thought she'd possibly need to know and the end result was…

"Gah, what the hell is that!" The poor girl sighed, she was covered in chocolate and frosting, tired to the bone and all she had to show for it was a…a…well, she wasn't quite sure what it was really. She knew it was made of chocolate, of that she could be certain, but the half melted, horribly disfigured lump of something certainly was the ugliest piece of chocolate she had ever seen! There was no way she could give that to Keitaro, not with all of the pretty things she knew he'd be receiving from everyone else.

"Maybe I can give him something else tomorrow…yeah that's it. I'll just go to the store and buy something. Maybe it doesn't even have to be chocolate at all! Stupid holiday tradition anyway." Though she sounded confident, Naru was anything but. She'd really wanted to make something nice for him but she should have known that anything she ever tried to cook was always ruined. She sighed sadly, and looked upon her creation once more. It seemed like a shame to get rid of good chocolate, maybe she should save it and pass it off to someone later? Thinking that was as good an idea as any, the young woman carefully stored the ugly hunk of sweet in a container and hid it where no one could possibly find it. With that task done, she carefully cleaned up all evidence and went off to her bed, dreading tomorrow and all of the romantic sweetness that would accompany it. With one last firm thought in her mind, Naru changed her clothes and fell exhaustedly into her bed. _Whoever invented Valentine's Day should be drug out into the street and be made to face my anger on a **very** bad day._

---

"Wow, what a day," Keitaro mumbled to himself as he considered the ceiling above him the next evening. _Who would have ever thought that I'd get such nice things from everybody? Even Yuki gave me something, though I don't think I deserved it after the way I treated her that one day._ The young man sighed, bringing back the visuals on that painful day two weeks prior. He hadn't spoken to his friend after that for quite some time and then suddenly she had shown up at the door today with a small wrapped package in her hand. Though it saddened him greatly that she had not stayed to talk, merely looked at him with a sad smile and wished him a happy Valentine's Day and then left with not a word more. Of course, he was also disappointed in himself for not chasing after her to try and apologize for his behavior but right about that time, things got hectic.

_Hectic,_ he chuckled at the very thought of that word. It seemed so mild compared to the fiasco of chocolate giving and blushes and weird avant-garde art in the form of sweets. Then, of course, there was the beautiful one he received from Mutsumi, which was yet another surprise. Add all that together and he was more than just worn out by the end of the day! Yet, despite his exhaustion, he still couldn't sleep. Tomorrow, after all, was the day he would finally leave for his first expedition with Seta. He would leave everyone behind for a solid month and wouldn't see them again until he was a newly accepted Tokyo U attendee. Or at least, he hoped he would be. Keitaro held no reservations about his intelligence, heck it was a wonder he always got as far as he did with all the stupid mistakes he made. But, something told him that this time would be different, this time he would make it and make everyone, including Naru, proud of him.

"Hey, you still up?" Keitaro looked up at the sound of a feminine voice and was met with the sight of a Rid-kun doll poking down from a hole in the ceiling.

At his affirmative, the doll was replaced by fountain of chestnut brown hair. "Mind if I come down for a talk?" Naru didn't wait for an answer, merely reversed her position lithely and dropped down feet first. She walked over to where Keitaro was resting and sat beside him a small rush of air from her quick movements. "So what's up?"

Keitaro looked over in her direction and smiled a bit. "Nothing much, really. Just thinking about all the excitement that went on today."

"Yeah, it was pretty hectic wasn't it?" The young woman's voice drifted off a bit, apparently content to review all of the day's events in her mind just as Keitaro had a few moments before. One particular memory stuck in her mid however, and she turned to her companion with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Say, didn't Yuki come by really quickly? I haven't seen her around for quite some time is she busy or something?"

For the life of her, Naru couldn't understand why the mention of his friend suddenly brought a frown to Keitaro's face. "No, not really. We sort of had a fight and haven't seen much of each other these past two weeks." He answered truthfully a moment later, which was followed immediately by a depressed sigh.

"Oh," the brunette couldn't really think of much else to say after that explanation. In her experience, she wasn't used to Keitaro holding onto a fight for that long. No matter who's fault it had been he was always trying to apologize only hours after the fight took place it seemed. Regarding his depressed expression for a moment longer she carefully placed a hand on his arm. "Want to talk about it?"

Keitaro gave his girlfriend a surprised look for a moment, but then turned away quickly when her realized he was staring. "Not particularly," he answered quietly. "I'm pretty much already over my stupidity and I'm just waiting for the right moment to apologize, that's all."

"Oh."

Trying to quickly change the subject, which he felt was needed Keitaro simply blurted out the next thing that hit his mind. "So I leave tomorrow, for the expedition I mean."

Naru sighed. "Yeah, I know…a whole month. Including the exam period. I really hope you know what you're doing."

"I think I will do fine, as long as I have a focus," he countered, turning to face her once again. "Why is it that you seem so against the idea of me going? Is it because you're worried I might fail the test if I don't have you around to help me?"

Naru's eyes grew big and she hastily waved her arms in front of her, denying the question. "No! No…nothing like that." Her expression grew thoughtful for a moment as she tried to come up with an adequate way to describe her feelings. "I guess…I guess I'm just nervous, that's all. I keep thinking that the promise we made to go to Tokyo U together isn't really that special anymore if we don't get accepted standing right next to each other, you know. I know it's silly but I still can't help but get that twinge every once in a while."

"I think everything will attend to itself, really." Keitaro smiled, and gave his girlfriend an affectionate look in response to her curious expression. "What matters is that we get in, once there, we can figure the rest out then."

Naru sighed and gave him a playful hit on the arm. "Since when did you get all mature and cool on me, hunh?"

Keitaro merely laughed. "Mature and cool? Certainly not in this lifetime!" He stopped laughing when he felt something warm suddenly attach itself onto his chest. He looked down in surprise only to find himself wrapped in a strong embrace with Naru. "Wha?"

Disengaging herself, Naru wiped a bit of a tear from her eye and smiled at the bewildered expression on Keitaro's face. "Just promise me you'll do your best, alright? If you get in, we can...you know...let everything attend to itself. But if you don't, I… I don't mind waiting for one more year."

"Oh, and what if you don't make it and I do?" Keitaro teased back, tweaking his girlfriend's nose in the process.

Naru crossed her hands over her chest and attempted to look stern, an attempt that was ruined by the mischievous glint in her eyes and the smile on her face. "There's no need to worry about that. I got this one in the bag." She replied confidently, giving Keitaro a dazzling smile that nearly made the young man turn into a big pile of Kei-goo.

Still attempting to be playful, Keitaro suddenly caught Naru in his arms and gave her a quick peck on the lips, smiling all the while. While it was only meant to be playful and not too serious, both the pair found that their close position and the gentle warmth rising within them was a heady feeling indeed. Slowly they circled back into a kiss, this one a lot longer and a lot more passionate than the previous peck. As the kiss dragged on, the feeling grew within them both and soon they found hands wandering to places that either of the couple had only thought about in their most secretive moments. What they found at that simple touch led them both to want more, so much more.

They parted ways briefly, taking deep gulps of air before their eyes met once more and going back in for another kiss. Both hands clumsily searched out each other, not completely sure of what they were doing but both knowing that it felt good all the same. Naru, shocked at the thoughts and emotions running through her head broke off the kiss hastily and nervously looked over to where Keitaro's futon lay waiting. She gulped, and pushed one last scared thought out of her mind before taking her boyfriend's hand and kissing it gently. Looking up and getting lost in his eyes the moment the met hers she spoke nervously, not sure of what his answer might be.

"Keitaro…would you like to um…you know…do **it**?

---

Naru woke up slowly the next morning, a vague sense of something being out of place forcing her mind to leave the comfort of sleep and begin the process of waking up. That sense only intensified when her eyes, now fully open, did not recognize the ceiling they were staring at. Her mind slowly went over what she could remember of last night, trying to come up with a reason for why she would be staring at a ceiling not her own. Before she could contemplate too much further on the idea, however, a sound to her right brought her head around and her mind went blank upon the sight her eyes beheld. Keitaro. Keitaro in the same bed as she was.

To say that panic was the first thing she felt was completely an understatement. Slowly, her brain started working again as she got over the shock of the young man sleeping beside her then began to feed her images of the night before, images that made her blush and completely quelled any violent urges to send the so called pervert Tokyo bound. They had actually done it last night and at her request. A quick check under the sheets and she determined that she was quite naked underneath and so was the man next to her. That fact, along with the images zipping into her brain was all she needed to know that they had actually gone through with it rather than just play around. Then, when Naru thought that all the strange feelings her mind was processing were more than she could handle, new feelings emerged, following immediately after all of the stuff that led up to the act itself.

Pain. There was plenty of that. Embarrassment came in spades too…but shame? Naru blinked, why would she feel shame? She loved Keitaro right? Couples who love each other do this sort of thing all the time, didn't they? Shaking her head trying to clear the images and feelings from her mind, she carefully pulled herself out of the futon and slipped over to where her cast of clothes lay. As quietly as she could, she got dressed and slipped back up through the hole in the ceiling to her own room, leaving a sleeping Keitaro behind, none the wiser. Naru knew that if she was to deal with this new aspect of their relationship then she certainly needed to think about a few things, and what place could be more perfect right now than a bath?

With that in mind, she gathered her bathing things and headed down to the hot springs, hoping beyond hope that they would be empty. To her relief, they were. It was till early enough in the morning that most of the other residents weren't up yet. Breakfast was still an hour or so away so she had plenty of time to think before she would be interrupted by anyone.

When she was done stripping her clothes off, Naru wrapped a towel around herself self-consciously and headed out to the bathing area. A cold shower and a good shampoo and body wash session later, the young brunette was sitting in the pleasantly hot water, staring up at the sky. Wondering just what was going through her head.

It was nothing like she imagined it would be, really. It was fast, and painful, two feelings she definitely did not associate with sex, especially considering all she had heard from friends and acquaintances at school. Wasn't it supposed to be romantic and perfect and all other assortment of rosy colored things? If there was one thing she was certain, the half scared fumbling in the dark that she and Keitaro had done last night definitely was not, in any way, related to the things that her friends had told her about. So then, what did that mean? Did they do it wrong? Was there something wrong with her? Was there something wrong with Keitaro? Maybe they should have waited?

Nau placed a hand on her head and sunk down as low in the water as she could while still being able to breathe. Her head was pounding with the force of all the doubts and questions floating through her head and try as she might, no answers came to her then. Unfortunately, she was destined not to be left alone for too long, as just when she thought she might crack from the pressure, the bath door slip open and Motoko gracefully entered, her body still covered in sweat from her morning workout.

"Oh, good morning, Naru," the swordswoman greeted, surprised to find the young woman up so early, a fact she made sure to mention immediately. "You seem to be up early this morning."

Naru merely nodded not answering the other woman. As she watched Motoko go through her own shampooing session, the young brunette couldn't help but pull her towel tighter around her body as if scared somehow that the observant Motoko would know in a glance what she had been up to last night. Once she was done, Motoko covered herself as well and waded into the pool, sitting close to Naru so they did not have to strain to talk.

"Could not sleep?" The swordswoman asked, noticing the bags under Naru's eyes and the very subdued, tired look her friend wore.

Feeling that she could not avoid conversation any longer, Naru sat up a bit straighter and shook her head. "Not really," she answered quietly. "Lot of things on my mind."

"I can imagine," Motoko agreed, nodding her head as if in understanding. "This month you will face many challenges but I have confidence that you will see them through to the end."

Naru managed a bit of a smile at her friend's confidence. "Thank you."

The two sat in companionable silence for a wile longer, both taking the time to let muscles relax and minds to wander. In the case of Naru, however, her mind chose to wander back to last night…and the images she was receiving were anything but clean. Motoko looked over curiously when she heard a splash and found the Toudai hopeful up to her nose in water again and a noticeably red tint to her cheeks.

"Naru? Is there something the matter?" She asked curiously, wondering at the odd behavior of the normally sensible girl.

Naru shook her head violently, and tried to rid her mind of the naked Keitaro in her mind. It was very dark last night, both people too embarrassed to leave the lights on, but that didn't mean that she didn't see anything. The moon was full so that left plenty of ambient light to at least notice some **things**.

"I see," Motoko replied, watching as Naru's face, impossibly, became even redder. Before she could ask about that observation however, the young woman shot out of the bath, saying that she had something to do before disappearing into the changing room and slamming the door behind her. Leaving Motoko o blink in wonder.

_Now why in the world did I do that?_ She wondered, as she took her time getting changed. It wasn't like they were discussing anything embarrassing. But still, she could not shake the imaged floating through her head! One thing that she did manage to make up her mind about, though, was that she certainly wanted to avoid Keitaro until she could figure out what everything meant. Besides, seeing him might bring back certain…other images that she was having a very hard time controlling.

---

At that moment in time, the mentioned young man was just beginning to wake up himself. Though unlike his girlfriend, he woke up all at once with a sudden gasp and all of the images from last night flooding his mind at once. He shot up instantly when he realized what all those images meant and looked around frantically. It seemed Naru was gone then, when he couldn't find any trace of the woman in his bedroom. Even her clothes were gone so that meant she had to have returned to her own room before he woke up. He sighed happily and let himself fall back into his futon, letting the feelings wash over him until they had completely enveloped him in the warm glow of love and affection. They had finally done it last night! No longer was he Keitaro, a virgin without a girlfriend. Now he had the most beautiful person in the world by his side and they had consummated their relationship just last night. Just at that time, he felt that he could take on the whole world by himself!

After a few minutes of staring at the ceiling, being lost in his own thoughts, however, his bladder decided to inform him that it very much needed to relieve itself. With that in mind, the young man got out of his bed and put it away swiftly before throwing some clothes on and heading to the nearest bathroom. By the time he was done, he was just coming to the decision that he should maybe stop by Naru's room and see if she had gone back to bed or went ahead and stayed up after she left. But at that moment, the smell of breakfast wafting up through the halls was enough to convince him that the visit with Naru could wait. Besides, it was probably a good chance that she was already downstairs anyway.

"Good Morning Shinobu!" He called out in greeting as he entered the dining room. He gave the resident chef a happy smile when she turned around and returned his greeting.

"My you're in a good mood this morning Sempai!"

Keitaro laughed and placed his hand behind his neck. "Well, just happy to be alive, is all." He looked around for a brief moment, and noticed that he was the only other person in the room. "So is anyone else up yet?"

Shinobu nodded. "Yes, I saw Motoko heading for the baths just a little while ago and I believe I heard her talking with Naru when I was getting ready to start breakfast."

"Ah, so Naru is up then? That's good."

Shinobu, noticing his even happier expression at the mention of Naru, got curious. "Did you and Naru have a good study session last night?" It always seemed he was the happiest when he and Naru were getting along and that usually happened when the pair spent most of their time studying together. For Keitaro to be **this** happy, he must have done really good!

Keitaro, for his part, blushed and ducked his head. "Yeah, something like that." He responded quietly.

"I'm glad, then." Shinobu chirped back, then gathered a few things that she had going around her and piled them on a plate. "Please, Sempai, sit down. Since you're going away today I thought I would fix you something extra special for breakfast."

Doing as the cook told him to do, Keitaro's blush deepened at the special treatment. "Thanks, you really didn't have to."

"Didn't have to do what?" Motoko asked as she entered then, seating herself with her usual grace. "Good morning to you, Shinobu, Urashima."

"Oh nothing much, just fix a special meal on my behalf." Keitaro responded, then belatedly returned the morning greeting. "Oh, by the way…are you going to late tonight with practice?"

The swordswoman spared her breakfast table neighbor a curious look at his question. "No, I don't believe I should be. Why?"

"Well, just wanted to treat everyone to dinner tonight…you know, because I'm leaving and everything."

"Very well then." As if that agreement was a trigger, all parties stopped talking at that moment and began eating breakfast, knowing that the rest of the group would soon show up on their own time.

Sure enough Su came crashing downstairs only minutes after the three started breakfast, and while no one expected to see Kitsune until lunch Naru not showing up was a big surprise. Once everyone finished eating and the three still in school got up to leave Keitaro assured them that he would check on the wayward teen and that he would see them tonight for dinner. With that, the young man gathered together a small plate of food and walked upstairs.

"Naru? " Keitaro knocked on his girlfriend's door, but when all he heard was a muffled crash he began to wonder what was going on. "I have breakfast." He added hopefully.

After a few more minutes of tense silence Keitaro finally received a reply that sounded slightly subdued. "Umm…I'm not really feeling to well. Could you please leave it by the door?"

Worried about her tone, but not wanting to press the issue too much, the young man agreed to do exactly as the Naru told him and set the tray down at his feet. "All right, It's right here in front," he called out in what he hoped was a concerned tone of voice. "I hope you'll feel better soon. Oh and I'm taking everyone out to dinner tonight before I leave as a good bye present. We'll leave as soon as Motoko gets home from practice."

"All right." Came the quiet reply. Hoping to get something else, Keitaro stayed by the door for a few minutes but when all he received was more silence he quietly turned back down the hall and began the long list of chores he promised himself he'd do before his expedition.

Hour by hour, Keitaro made sure that everything that needed to be done was done. He went top floor down fixing just about everything that he could think of and that he could handle himself. In fact, he was quite proud of himself that he even managed to service the giant boiler which heated the hot springs water and had been needing a good check up since before he had gotten to Hinata. Sometime during the late morning he ran into Kitsune as she stumbled out of room and gave him a weak greeting before heading immediately to the bathroom but other than that he saw not one soul until it was almost time for all of the girls to go out to his good bye dinner. A fact that made him worry when he remembered that Naru had not sounded to good this morning and since he didn't see her at all during the day he figured she wasn't getting too much better.

He was just coming back from his bath, after finishing the last of the things he wanted to do when he noticed Kitsune knocking on Naru's door as he had that morning.

"Come on, girl, it's a free meal how are you going to pass that up?" As he came within hearing range, it became apparent that Naru's best friend wasn't having any more luck than he did that morning.

"Hey Kitsune, any luck?" he asked once he came up beside the dirty blonde, staring at the door that as far as he could tell had been pretty much closed all day. Though he did notice with relief that the tray of breakfast he left for her was gone, as well as the one he gave her for lunch.

"I'm still feeling really horrible. (cough) Is that Keitaro? Maybe it's best of you guys just go without me."

The resident slacker looked over to Keitaro and shrugged, as if to say, 'there's your answer.' She knocked on the door once again, hoping the girl would break down. After all, her boyfriend was leaving for an entire month right after dinner! Surely the best thing the girl could do was suck it up and come down and at least say goodbye. When all she received was silence after that, she shrugged once more and looked to Keitaro for the answer.

The young man merely echoed her shrug and made a motion for her to head on downstairs where the rest of the girls were already waiting. Once she was gone Keitaro faced the door and knocked quietly.

"Naru? It's just me…I'm coming in, alright?" Keitaro reached down for the door but stopped as a frantic reply met him.

"No! Please don't! I don't look good at all! I'll be fine, just go on ahead and I'll see you when you get back, okay?"

Keitaro sighed in frustration. On one hand he really was beginning to get really worried about his girlfriend. Sure she didn't sound good at all, but it wasn't like her to completely blow off everybody! But, in the end, he was just too nice to press the issue. He really didn't want to aggravate anything she had by making her mad and to tell the truth, he really didn't need to go flying right now either. As it was he'd have just barely enough time to treat everyone to dinner before he had to make his ship with Seta.

"All right," he relented. "I'm going now. I'll try and e-mail you as soon as I get in to see how you're feeling. I'm sorry this worked out the way it did." He was about to turn and go when one last thought caught him. "Oh…and I love you. See you when I get back."

The area was deathly quiet for a moment but just before he thought he wouldn't receive a reply, an almost whispered "I love you too," reached his ears. Satisfied, he left then, not knowing that Naru lay just on the other side of the door and that there were twin silver streaks down her cheeks.

**End chapter 3**


	4. Part 1, Chapter 4

_Author's note at the end. All standard disclaimers apply._

**The Wisdom of Snow **

**Part 1, Chapter 4**

**Author: Garasu**

"Narusegawa, what's wrong?" Keitaro sighed into the wind. He had been thinking about his girlfriend throughout dinner, and the loading of his things onto the barge that would take him and Seta's team to the dig site. Now, six hours into the voyage with another forty-two to go, he found he could not sleep anymore and wandered up to the deck to get some fresh air.

The barge they were on was actually relatively comfortable, considering it was meant to hold a limited number of passengers and more for cargo than anything else. He could hear the powerful diesel engine that drove the massive propellers at all times and they were especially loud where he was currently, standing at the rear of the boat, watching the wake kick up and staring at nothing in particular. The early morning sky was absolutely stunning here, with no city lights to get in the way of viewing the stars, and just at the edge of the horizon eastward he could see the beginnings of false dawn approach.

The young man sighed again and his thoughts drifted to the mysterious attitude that Naru had taken his last day with her. Sure, she claimed to be sick…and it even sounded like she was the few times he had spoken with her through her door, but to not see **anyone** the whole day? Keitaro just knew something was on her mind as well. Though his clueless side wanted to merely pass it off as pre-test jitters, a relatively new voice within his head told him that it was something more serious than that. That of course led him to wonder about the night before. In his virgin eyes, everything had gone so well. Sure, he supposed it was a little quick and he felt bad about that but he could no more control his body and it's reaction than control Naru's temper! Had he done everything right, then? It was a relatively easy thing, he supposed, in the grand scheme of things: center target and pull the trigger...so to speak. What was it, then, had he done wrong?

Just then, the wind tussled his hair and he closed his eyes, relishing in the pleasantly cool air. They were heading further south now than he had even been before in Japan, including his little escapade with Mutsumi. In fact, judging by the air, they were probably outside of the southern reach of Japanese waters. He had asked Seta, way back at the beginning of their journey where exactly they were going, and his mentor merely smiled and told him it was a surprise. Though from what the young archeologist hopeful gathered from the type of equipment they were bringing along it was probably somewhere tropical. With that in mind, he expected things to get a lot warmer very quickly.

"Ah, there you are, Part-timer!" Keitaro turned at the sudden voice, practically right beside him and jumped a little bit into the air.

"Man, Seta, don't do that to me!" he cried to his mentor, trying to get his rapidly beating heart rate to go down. The older man merely smiled happily in response, took out a cigarette and firmly planted it in his mouth before lighting up.

"So what brings you out here?" He asked of his student, after a long drag on his death stick. "Been looking for you everywhere."

Keitaro blinked in curiosity. Seta had been looking for him at this time of morning?

The older man, seeming to sense his student's curiosity, elaborated. "Merely wanted to see how you were settling in. Noticed you weren't in your bunk and since I usually can't sleep much on the first night of a voyage either I figured you might want to talk."

Keitaro smiled. "Ahh, now I understand. Thanks, Seta, for thinking of me but I think I'll be okay for now. Just have a lot on my mind."

Seta gave his student a piercing glare and raised his hand up to rub his chin thoughtfully. "Now that seems to be the look of lady troubles!" He laughed confidently when Keitaro sputtered in reaction. "I have seen much in the ways of the opposite sex, Part-timer, they are a mystery perhaps far and above the archeology we do for a living."

The young man considered Seta's words. "So there's really no way to tell what they're thinking, hunh?" He asked, hoping, maybe, for an easy answer that could help him solve his problem with Nau.

Seta clapped Keitaro on the back heartily. "Nope. It's never that easy." He paused then gave his student an appraising look. "Say, I've noticed before that when Sarah harasses you have some sharp reflexes. Ever take part in any martial arts?"

"Me? Martial Arts? Don't be ridiculous!" Keitaro laughed. "Some of the girls I manage at the dorm are, shall we say…a little violent so I have learned to dodge a few things here and there just because I've had them hit me so many times. But I've never taken an interest in anything organized. I'm too clumsy."

"Hmm, that's maybe what you think." Seta rubbed his chin once again as he looked at the younger man ahead of him. Suddenly he threw out a punch for Keitaro's head with lightening fast precision. Distracted as he was with his predicament over Naru, the young man merely pulled his head to side unconsciously not giving the dodge a second thought. Or at least he didn't think about until a few seconds later when he blinked and looked at his mentors fist resting where his head used to be.

"Whaa? Hey! What did you do that for?" Keitaro yelled, once Seta withdrew his fist. "That could have done some serious damage you know."

Seta merely smiled. "Instinct. Focusing on the attack sometimes puts blinders on the receiver. They see the fist and try to think about what to do next, by the time they decide what to do about it it's already too late. The best, though, do things on a purely instinctual level. They don't see the fist they just dodge. You've got the instinct already, perhaps you would like to hone that a little hmm?"

The young man considered the offer carefully. Well, maybe if it would allow him to spare himself some pain…he would never, **ever** consider hitting back against one of the girls but if he could dodge that just may do the trick. It was, for the most part a simple decision, really.

"When?"

Seta's smile widened, knowing he had found himself a true disciple. Someone much like himself in every respect. "Oh, here and there between digs and study sessions of course. But I figure we have about another day and half on this ship, why not start early?"

"Sounds good to me!" Keitaro replied enthusiastically. In truth, anything would be a good distraction from his current thoughts of Naru and the prospect of a good sweat was more than he could pass up.

"Excellent!" Seta clapped his new team member on the back, making the younger man stumble a bit. "Now, the first thing I see we need to work on is balance…"

And so it went for the next several hours, both mentor and student discussed all things martial. With this new distraction set between studying sessions for both the dig site and the upcoming Toudai examination, Keitaro found it hard to believe that the forty-two hours he had left on the ship passed very quickly.

----

"Miss Aoyama!"

Motoko turned at the sound of her name, hiding her confusion at the fact that she didn't immediately recognize the voice with practiced ease. A moment later, though, confusion turned to surprise as she regarded the petit silver-haired girl walking up to her with a friendly smile on her face. The kendo girl's surprise was deepened by the newcomer's dress.

Apparently, Yuki had something very formal to do because the young woman was elegantly walking towards Motoko in a kimono that was very similar to the one she had seen the girl wear the day she was out with Keitaro. This time, however, the silver filigree was replaced with delicate blue-grey lines in the shape of snowflakes that looked more like watermarks than actual lines of thread. Her hair was tightly woven in an intricate braid that must have taken hours for the girl to complete herself and was all held in place with a pair of chopsticks crossing through a knot on the girl's head. To say that it was a striking combination was an understatement of the highest order.

Mindful of the stares the pair were getting once Yuki had caught up to her, Motoko blushed faintly and returned the girl's greetings politely, if with a bit of reservation.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you again, Miss Aoyama." Yuki continued to smile, as if oblivious of all the attention she was receiving from the opposite sex. "I must admit, I haven't been able to come by the Hinata Inn as much as I'd like these past few weeks."

Though well aware of the rift that had formed between the young woman and Keitaro, Motoko decided to keep her own counsel on the subject. "Yes, very regrettable," she returned politely. "But please, call me Motoko if you don't mind. There is no need for such formalities between us."

Yuki merely nodded in response. "I am glad, as a matter of fact, that I saw you today. There is something rather important I need to share with you. Do you know of anywhere we can talk without being interrupted?"

Motoko raised her eyebrows at this curious direction but hastily assured the girl that there was indeed someplace they would be relatively safe from prying ears. Twenty minutes of walking filled mostly with silence later, the two young women were in Motoko's own room at Hinata. Though on most days this location would be anything but private, especially if Kitsune was around and had a vested interest in whatever was being said behind the shoji door, the kendo girl knew that pretty much everybody was out of the house on errands at this time of day.

"So, you wished to speak with me?" Motoko asked politely, setting a cup of tea before her guest before retreating to a pillow directly across from the silver-haired girl and folding herself elegantly upon it. She had taken the time to change from her school uniform into her hakama and keikogi while the tea was being prepared and though it was a strange feeling, considering Yuki's dress, she felt more comfortable because of it.

The girl across from her carefully took a sip of her tea, allowing the swordswoman to gather that fact that Yuki was quite nervous for some reason. Though, from what little she knew, Motoko had no idea why this could be the case. She knew that something had happened between the young woman and Keitaro, of that she was certain, but the details of that encounter were never made known to any of the other residents not even Naru. The first statement out of her mouth, however, threw Motoko for a loop.

"Do you remember the first day you saw me?" Yuki set down her cup and gave Motoko a level stare, trying to determine the swordswoman's reaction.

Motoko blushed, immediately recalling the afternoon that kitsune had dragged her out of her room and through the streets of Hinata to have her stare rudely at the couple sitting in a restaurant. Though at the time, she was curious at the situation but had since tried to forget her poor manners that afternoon. But then, a feeling returned to her. Something very familiar, a prickly feeling at the back of her neck, setting all of the fine hairs their standing on edge. It took the swordswoman a moment to realize that she wasn't just remembering the feeling that she felt when her and Yuki first made eye contact, but was actually feeling it at that moment, and much stronger than the first day as well.

One interesting thing about sitting seiza was that for anyone who had to get to their feet very quickly could do so at a moments notice. All it took was a quick flip of her feet to provide a stable base and Motoko shot of her knees as quick as lighting. She reached her sword and had it drawn on the girl even faster than she got on her feet.

"What are you?" Motoko asked quietly, all too familiar with the hair trigger sensations that told her danger was approaching. The warriors of the Shinmei Ryu were quite well versed in the occult beings that walked the earth still, even though modern science had chosen to ignore them long ago and from what she could tell of the ki signature she was receiving the girl before her was definitely one of those beings. "What do you want?"

Motoko kept her anger tightly reigned in as she faced her opponent, letting go of the feelings clouding her judgment about how stupid Urashima had been in letting someone like Yuki get within ten feet of the rest of the dorm as well as her own anger in not sensing the problem in the first place. She had talked to the girl when she was not only four feet away for Kami's sake! How could something this big have slipped by her?

"Please, Motoko, put away your weapon. I am not who you think I am, I assure you." Yuki quietly assured the on edge swordswoman. She made no move that could be interpreted as aggressive; in fact she made no move at all, staring up at Motoko past her sword with entreating eyes. Eyes that asked the young woman to understand. "I meant no harm in anything. In fact, you could say that I am here to prevent harm."

The kendo girl gave Yuki a hard stare before sliding Shisui back in its sheath. She carefully sat down once again, but made sure to place her sword in plain sight next to her, an open display of her readiness to draw it once again should she need to.

"Go on." She encouraged the silver haired girl, once she had settled back into a seated position.

Much to Motoko's annoyance, Yuki carefully took another sip of her tea before continuing. "How much do you know of protective spirits?" She finally asked, carefully keeping her expression as neutral as possible.

Motoko sighed, running over the information in her head before speaking. Her school did not deal with them quite as often as demons, but because of their nature there had been times when someone evil had called upon their own protective spirits to save their lives from the sword of the Shinmei Ryu. "They are nothing more than entities that can be called upon by the person whim they protect. They are neither evil, nor good in most cases but instead exist merely to protect their chosen one from harm. However, I know you were not called, because I know that Urashima does not have the capabilities to call upon spirits even if he was aware of their existence in the first place. He has no ki abilities to speak of, which is necessary to sense and invoke people of your kind."

"You are correct, in a manner of speaking." Yuki nodded. "I am a protective spirit in all senses of the word. However, as I am sure you are aware of by now, I am also different from that being that you just described."

Motoko took the initiative, nodding her agreement to what Yuki had just told her. "Yes, for one thing, you are entirely too powerful to be merely a protective spirit. Protective spirits only exist to protect, and as such they cannot form much beyond basic manifestation spells that can be seen by average people. From what I can gather, you are fully manifested, able to be touched and equally effect all of the other human senses as well."

Yuki smiled a bit, pleased with the depth of knowledge that Motoko possessed of the spiritual world. "That leaves me to be classified into a higher phylum, yes?" At the kendo girl's nod, she continued. "That is correct. I am in a higher phylum than just a mere protective spirit. My kind are very few, and that probably is why you may not have seen one of us before as exhaustive as your familial records may be. In essence I am a protective spirit attached to a particular family. Long ago, Keitaro's ancestor made a pact with me, that he would bolster my magics with his own spells. In exchange I was to become the protective spirit of his ancestors and only his ancestors. As you know most spirits are drawn to power and only hold allegiances to the most powerful person calling them. Some are quite fickle and require much concentration to keep."

Motoko blinked, not exactly sure of what to make of this new information. In her experience it wasn't possible to bind any kind of spirit to bloodline, especially the protective ones. With this in mind, she asked the one question that had been forming in her mind since this conversation began. "Assuming this to be true, why Urashima? As far as I am aware there is nothing special about his bloodline and there certainly isn't anything special about Keitaro in particular." She was quite surprised when instead of answering Yuki looked down at the ground and blushed a deep shade of red.

"Well, I sort of fell in love with his ancestor, the one that I made a pact with," she whispered, barely above the level that Motoko could hear. She raised her face, and met Motoko's eyes squarely. "He was a good man with a kind heart, just like Keitaro is. I swore I would protect him always."

To say that Motoko was floored with that particular admission was quite the understatement. She literally could not form another coherent thought in her mind. A spirit in love with a human? Was that really possible? Finally, she found her vocal chords but that didn't mean that there was much thought behind them, as fast as her head was spinning.

"But…Keitaro?" Motoko managed to mutter.

Yuki turned an even deeper shape of red, if that were humanely possible. "Well, he is and Urashima so when he is in trouble I am honor bound to protect him as I promised. But when I first saw him he looked so much like his ancestor that I could help myself. I had to stay to see what kind of man he was." The next part she whispered to herself more or less, but Motoko's sharp ears caught it nonetheless. "He was more than I could have possibly imagined."

The kendo girl tried to convince herself the little twinge she felt at that admission was just a muscle reflex from this morning's tough workout. Tried, and nearly failed. It took her a few moments before she realized that Yuki was once again speaking to her.

"There is so much good in him Motoko, I wish you'd see that. You have something right under your nose that could solve everything you ever wanted in life if only you'd just see his good. I know that I am merely a spirit; that I can't do anything that could even remotely come close to what he would want out of a relationship. But I will continue to protect him, even if that means I must protect him from his own heart."

Trying to maintain a stern façade, especially considering the sensitive subject they were now touching upon, Motoko turned her head to the side. "Why are you telling me this? Shouldn't you be talking to Naru then?" She asked, not quite able to mask completely the emotion she was fighting hard to reign in.

Yuki turned her head sadly from side to side, making Motoko look back at her with surprise. "I don't think she can help him. Not with everything that will happen should his barriers break, something I can sense is very close to happening. It could all be for nothing if everything continues as it is, but one strong emotional outburst will be enough to break the barrier."

The kendo girl's surprise turned to confusion as eh tried to process everything that Yuki was telling her. "What do you mean help him? And what is this barrier you speak of?"

"It ties in with what I asked you that one morning, long ago. Considering you were so in tune with the spiritual plane that I had to actually tone down my own life force to ensure you didn't detect me I was surprised that you could not feel it every time you and Keitaro were near each other. Can't you feel his potential?"

"Potential?"

"Yes, as a master of your own school surely you know the differences between Talent and Potential?" Yuki asked, somewhat sarcastically.

Yuki's tone was just enough to bring Motoko from her own head spin and concentrate on the conversation taking place. "Of course. Talent is Potential manifested. With regards to Ki abilities human beings are classified in one of two ways. They either have potential or talent. Most of us are born only with the potential to do the kind of attacks my school or others like us perform on a daily basis. Only through rigorous training and devotion are we able to turn that potential into a true talent. Of course, rarely, there are those who are born with natural, raw talent. But those kinds of people are incredibly few, and when they do manifest they are those that truly perfect their chosen craft above and beyond all others."

"And that potential can come in several varieties. There are those who will never become more than adequate at a task no matter how hard they work. Then there are those that contain enough potential that should they devote themselves, they could become masters." Yuki finished for Motoko.

"And you are saying that Keitaro has the potential?"

"More than enough to become an equal to even you should he work at it," the silver-haired girl replied. "But right now, he is blocked. Most youths who have potential the size of his are generally attracted to what they do best early in life and develop that potential naturally into talent. Keitaro however, has not done so. I do not know why, but somehow it has become 'stuck' inside him. That isn't too unusual, but most people that this happens to continue living normal lives and are never aware of what they could have become. He is different, I've noticed. Since he moved here to Hinata Inn he has been pushed to the edge of his emotions so often that the barrier that keeps his potential in check has been wearing away. One more emotional breakdown of a sufficient magnitude and that barrier will burst and when that happens…"

"The mind could be lost," Motoko finished, a feeling of dread washing over her. "Once, when I was young, the elders of my family treated someone with such an injury to the mind. His channels had been burned out forcefully and his mind was almost completely lost. As it was, the elders were only able to save his sanity. The young man would forever be plagued with headaches of a ferocious nature whenever he did anything remotely physical." Motoko eyes grew haunted at the memories of that man, whom she only knew fleetingly as a child. "How? How could I have not seen this coming?" She asked herself.

Yuki shifted herself closer to the swordswoman, placing a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "This type of thing is rare in the extreme sense. There was no way you could have known he was close to breaking. I only knew because I am tied to the Urashimas and know their abilities intimately. Now do you understand why I am reserved about Keitaro furthering his relationship with Naru? Such a volatile relationship could end with Keitaro's barriers broken and his mind lost."

"But why me?" Motoko repeated. "Urashima has no attachment to me, and I certainly do not have one to him. What would I have been able to do?"

Yuki sighed. "If you have to ask that then perhaps I was wrong about you as well." She stood then, dusting off her Kimono lightly. "Think upon it. But for now, there is one final thing that I wish to ask of you."

Motoko looked up at the spirit curiously. "And that is?"

"Watch over him? Before I was tied to his bloodline, I was a winter spirit; only able to manifest myself during the cold months of the year. The magic Urashima provided me was enough to protect my charge throughout the year even though I am not able to appear personally, but I am still tied to my original abilities. Now that the winter months are ending, I'm afraid I won't be able to stay and keep an eye on Keitaro all the time."

"But…I…"

"No. You don't have to change. Just watch him. If Naru loves him as much as he loves her then we will not have a problem but if something should go wrong, you are the only one that can help him on the physical plane. I trust you to know what to do." Yuki lowered her head sadly, hating now more than ever that she was only a winter spirit and could only physically be with Keitaro a measly three months out of the year. She slowly began to walk to the door in front of her, everything she had to say now out in the open. She only hoped that nothing went too wrong.

Motoko, now at a loss for words stood and walked Yuki to her door, trusting the girl to find her own way to the outside. "I…I will try." She mumbled after the girl, just loud enough for her to hear.

Yuki turned to the swordswoman and smiled. "That is all I can ask. I will see you again, Motoko, next winter. If Keitaro asks about me, tell him that I merely had to go out of the country again. I'd rather he not know my true nature just yet."

"As you wish," Motoko replied quietly. "Goodbye, Yuki. Please protect him as best as you can."

"I will. Goodbye Motoko." With that last statement, Yuki walked turned and walked down the hall and down towards the exit. She stepped outside and was immediately greeted by the rush of cool air. She smiled at the slight hint of spring she could sense, just around the corner. Slowly, she turned as took one last look at the Inn that she had known for as long as it stood on these grounds and thought back to the generations of Urashimas she watched over among the years. Thinking of one in particular she smiled brilliantly before disappearing into a flurry of snow, her voice a whisper upon the wind itself. "Goodbye for now, Keitaro. We'll see each other again real soon."

----

The office was quiet at this time of night, just the way he liked it. It was late enough now that all of his employees had gone home for the day, even the cleaning staff, though Mr. Toritsuku stayed on. Most people just thought that their boss was a workaholic, and they were true, to some extent. The middle aged man did enjoy his work and spent a great deal of time making sure that every little detail that needed done in his life was done. On this particular night however, he was not busily working at his desk or making a conference call to some other part of the world that was in the middle of it's day. This time, he was merely sitting in his office with all of the lights off except the ones that lit his collection seemingly staring at nothing.

His collection. He took great pleasure in the items that he had painstakingly collected over the years, almost as much pleasure he took from working. When one also considered that the majority of his work was, in fact, collecting priceless antiques from all over the world it would server to explain the theory of his workaholism. Yet despite the many artifacts sitting in front of him, and how much pleasure they brought the man, if one were to take a close look at his face they would see one thing out of place: his expression. Instead of looking upon his treasures with the look of glee one would have at remembering all of the years it took to procure such items, he was wearing a look of grim disappointment. Following the direction his eyes never left, this imaginary viewer would also discern that he was not, in fact, staring into space. Though the spot his brown eyes never left, indeed, was empty, one would gather the opinion that it was actually meant to be filled. The ivory pillar column and place of honor at the center of his room also lent to the fact that this missing item was of some importance to the man.

Mr. Toritsuku was brought from his brooding thoughts by the insistent ring of his cell phone, a private number only select few knew of. Slowly, he lifted the electronic device from the pocket in his suit jacket and lifted it to his ear.

"Yes?"

The middle-aged man listened for a moment, confirmed that it was at last the man he had been waiting to hear from.

"They have arrived, you say? Excellent." His voice lifted easily in the quiet room, a musical sound that spoke well of his education. He listened for a few more minutes before smiling slightly; an intent, almost predatory smile.

"No. Not immediately. Give them time to set up first. Do nothing irresponsible or it shall be your life. Merely…make your presence known."

A few more seconds of listening and he nodded in agreement to the plan he was hearing. "Excellent. Keep me informed." He hung up then, satisfied with the outcome of the conversation. No danger yet, nothing to draw suspicions. Quiet and controlled, his qualities exactly. After only a few more moments contemplating his plan, he set about staring at the empty pillar once again, this time with an almost eager expression to replace his dour one of before.

----

"Wow! I can't believe we're finally done!" Keitaro enthused, sinking exhaustedly into his chair. Seta came up next to him and did the exact same thing in the chair next to the young man.

"Ahh, nothing like the first day of excavating to get the blood pumping!" The eternally unshaven man never paused in his laughing as he dug in his coat pocket for a cigarette and lit the item before taking a long drag. "Office work just can't compare, eh part-timer?"

Keitaro rubbed his aching shoulders, painful after the hours of digging he had done today. As much as he though the physical labor the girls put him though the first few weeks he had spent at Hinata Inn was pure hell it was nothing but a drop in the bucket compared to the work he had done today. Though, strangely, he enjoyed every minute of it and found that only his body was exhausted as it was just not used to the exercise. Inside, his spirit was practically soaring. The young man summoned up a smile and nodded enthusiastically in response to his mentor's question. A reply that only sent more fits of care free laughter from the older man's mouth.

"Just you wait, Urashima! Today was just an exploratory dig, only moving a bunch of the large stuff to get to the next layer of soil. Once we get everything clear, the real fun will begin!"

"I can't wait!" Keitaro replied, happy to be doing something he felt was constructive. Then his mind hit on something he was supposed to do when he got everything in the camp settled. "Say, Seta, there wouldn't be a fax machine somewhere around here, would there?"

The archeology professor rubbed his chin thoughtfully before brightening up. "Ah, if I remember correctly there's one near my favorite restaurant in these parts. Care to join me for dinner and then we can send that fax of yours?"

"Sure, just let me get a few of my books so I can study while we eat." Keitaro moved off into his own part of the tent he shared with his mentor and grabbed a few of the more portable study materials he had. Within moments he was out the door along with Seta, chatting happily about the events of the day.

Once they reached the restaurant, Keitaro quickly discovered that good day's work did something else for him: make the food taste that much better. Now, he had to admit that he had gotten used to the Hinata Inn's resident chef delicious fare, and that probably colored his opinion slightly but beyond that the food was absolutely atrocious! He looked over to where his mentor was lightheartedly gobbling down the food at a pace that had to have killed any taste of the cuisine what so ever. In fact, the taste rather made him wonder why Seta liked this place so much but he only questioned that tactic until Seta's bowl was quickly refilled as soon as the food was gone and then he got a look at the price quoted on the check. All that food for that much? He was about to declare this place the best food on earth! He got the idea rather quickly and was soon gobbling the food at a rate that matched his teacher's.

As soon as he and Seta had had their fill, the pair finished their meal with a shared pint of beer and a few pointers about taking the exam. Keitaro also enjoyed the many stories that Seta had from his own ronin years and was left amazed at just what the man before him was capable of. He could only hope that he would be as well rounded as Seta by the time he was his mentor's age. Soon enough, however, it was time for the pair to head back as it would be dark very soon and Keitaro still needed to use the fax in order to send his well wishes back to the residents.

"You have what you want to say?" Seta asked his student once the ancient looking fax machine was located.

"Yup, right here. I composed it the last day before we got of the barge." Keitaro handed the piece of paper to his boss and they both watched as it was scanned and then sent on its way. "Well, I hope they get it." The young man finished as he pulled his original note from the tray. It wasn't much, really, just a quick greeting that let everyone know that he had arrived safely and that he was enjoying himself so far. Keitaro definitely didn't want to put anything personal for Naru in it just case she wasn't the one who received the fax first.

The walk back to the dig site was a pleasant one, as the sun had already disappeared behind the western horizon and the cool air of the evening hours swept across the desert where they were staying. Keitaro enjoyed the unobstructed view of the nighttime sky as he and Seta exchanged meaningless chitchat back and forth. All conversation ended however when they entered the tent they were staying in and found that it was quite literally trashed.

"What in the world?" Keitaro asked, shocked at the condition on their living space. It looked like someone had set off one of Su's bombs inside the place! Their beds were knocked over and the sheets thrown carelessly upon the ground. The cabinets and table were all flipped upside down and their contents spread liberally along the floor along with their bed sheets. He took a step forward slowly, only to be stopped by Seta and the deadly serious expression on his face. The young man found himself searching his memory and found that he could not ever remember the man wearing that particular expression before, a fact that made obeying all that more important.

A second later Seta relaxed, and looked over to his student who looked up at him curiously. "Don't worry, it's safe. I was just trying to see if the person who had done this was still inside. Cautiously, the pair entered the threshold and began to right everything that had been flipped over. It seemed to take forever to do, but by the time that they were finished Seta was reasonably sure that nothing had been taken. That meant someone was just trying to let them know that they were unwelcome. But who could it be? The locals? Seta was quite sure that they were always welcome by the local populace but then again, he could never tell too much. While they were fixing everything up a few more members of their team had arrived and told the men that they hadn't seen anyone coming or going into the camp, which wasn't too surprising. After all, this was an exploratory dig, not a military site. Sentries were definitely not a part of the usual duties for one of Seta's camps.

"Any idea who could have done this?" Keitaro asked his mentor once everything had been straightened and they were getting ready to go to sleep.

Seta merely shook his head. "Not that I can think of, but I can't be too sure of a few ideas that I have. It's not worth mentioning now, though," the older archeologist replied offhandedly. "For now, let's just be more on guard throughout the dig. But I don't you to worry too much, part-timer, you have a test take later this week and I want to make sure you'll do well."

"I want to do good as well," Keitaro replied sleepily, yawning massively. "I won't worry about it too much as long as you feel it's not important," he assured the man. "but for now, I'm going to sleep. See you in the morning, boss."

"Goodnight, Urashima," Seta replied, then flicked off the lights. They had a long month ahead, and he promised himself he would be on guard for the rest of the time they were on the island. He didn't feel it was too important but it never hurt to be safe. With that final thought seta flipped himself over and blacked out immediately.

As if the promise to be on guard for the rest of the trip was an omen of ill will, Keitaro and Seta found their collective frustration coming to a boiling point over the next month. The tests went particularly well for Keitaro, in his opinion but that was the only thing that seemed to go well for him the whole time. Week by week, the dig was beleaguered by a series of accidents, each worse than the previous one. While they were lucky nobody had been hurt so far, it had come awfully close to just that on a few occasions. In fact, Keitaro still had nightmares about the time he almost drowned in one of the ditches when someone had dug too deeply and a rush of water flooded the current area he was in. If it wasn't for the quick thinking of their littlest team member, Nyamo, and her pet turtle he might have been very much worse off.

Though in retrospect, that particular incident had revealed something quite extraordinary once the water was cleared away. As soon as the water level had gone down Seta noticed a particular side of the ditch and slight regularities in them that were too smooth to be natural. A little exploration into the matter revealed some of the best-preserved murals that the man had ever seen. But that one mural wall, left from the elusive turtle civilization, had been one of the only finds on the whole dig. Still, it was major enough to warrant immediate attention from the scientists back at Tokyo University and had earned both Seta and Keitaro a photograph for the school newspaper back home and well deserved honor for finding the wall mural.

There was, however, one more extremely bright spot in this dig and that came in the form of a letter with the official seal of Tokyo U on it and addressed to Keitaro. Since he still had a few weeks left in the dig it was impossible for him to leave to check the results of the test he had taken under Seta's careful eye. As such, the school had arranged to send him the results so that he could still have plenty of time to send in his paperwork should he be accepted.

The day it had arrived, Keitaro refused to open it he was so nervous. It sat on his bed for the better part of a day while the young man would glance at it from time to time before continuing on his nervous pacing. He had just received a fax from Haruka the other day letting him know that both Naru and Mutsumi had made it in and he now felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. Should he fail this time, he would have no excuses. He would have also broken his promise to Naru, which he definitely did not want to do. So, in his trepidation, the letter went unopened and Keitaro continued to pace, glancing at the manila envelope over and over again for a few more hours.

Finally, Seta had walked into the tent and spied his student nervously pacing a ditch into the floor of their tent and laughed. "Well, part-timer, it's not going to open itself! You going to find out if I'll be having you as a student or not anytime soon?"

"I don't know…" Keitaro sputtered, looking back at the envelope. "What if I didn't get accepted this time? Naru already did, what would she say if I couldn't keep my promise? What would I do if **I** couldn't keep my promise?"

Seta laughed some more before going over to the bed and picking up the object, then handed it over to the nervous young man. "Either way you wouldn't have changed in any significant way. What happens, happens. I'm sure Naru understands that."

Faced with such utter truth, Keitaro found himself fingering the seal of the envelope before he shook his head and shoved it back to his mentor. "Okay, you open it, I can't bare to look!" He then shook his head again and snatched the object from Seta's hands. "No, I'll open it…I want to see for myself." The young man went back and forth like this for a time before he finally let the envelope rest in his teacher's hands one final time. "Okay, you open it. I can take it, no matter what. Just promise not to laugh if I don't make it."

Seta gave his student one last amused look at his antics before sliding his fingers expertly along the seal and opening the envelope. He took out the letter and read it over once, making sure that his expression was unreadable to maximize the torture it put his student through. He couldn't resist after all.

"Hmm," he said seriously, while Keitaro sweated bullets. As if that was a trigger, the young man couldn't contain himself any longer and began to run in circles with his arms flapping uncontrollably.

"Oh, I knew it! I knew I wouldn't make it this time! I should just give up…and after I tried so hard too!" He wailed in despair.

Seta let him do this for a moment longer before taking pity on the young student and correcting his error in judgment. "Relax, part-timer! This little note is just a congratulations letter. You have ten days to send in your paperwork and official acceptance."

Keitaro stopped so suddenly it was as if he had just ran into a brick wall. He looked over to his mentor with an expression of dead shock on his face. "Acceptance? You mean…I passed?"

"Welcome to Toudai, Urashima." Seta held out his hand to the shocked man, who shook it with about as much enthusiasm as a lead weight.

"I…I …I PASSED!" Keitaro screamed happily, once the shock had worn off. "I gotta tell Naru, I have to get to the fax machine…where's the paper? Where's my pen? I can't believe I passed!" The young man ran back and forth looking for the missing items for a while, repeating the phrase over and over again that he had passed all while Seta looked on with a highly amused expression on his face. It was right about that time that Keitaro, in his excitement, ran into one of the thick poles holding up the tent and promptly fell backwards, out cold. His mentor openly laughed at his student's antics before placing the paper carefully on Keitaro's desk and walking out of the tent, letting the passed out young man get some well deserved rest.

"Well, at least it's going to be interesting around here," he muttered to himself, not at all disappointed by the idea.

Keitaro chuckled as he remembered that day, two weeks later. He had done a lot of embarrassing things but fortunately, the team he was with didn't seem too annoyed. He had also managed to get a fax on the wire to let everyone back home know of his acceptance. He received a reply almost immediately from Haruka congratulating him and letting him know that she would pass along the good news. Besides that, the only other correspondence he had sent since then was a letter letting them all know he was on his way home and where to meet him. This time, he was flying home because Seta had wanted to stay and finish up a few things before taking the barge back. He assured Keitaro that everything was taken care of and that he could rest easy. He had done a wonderful job and would be receiving Seta's full recommendations.

So it was a bright and sunny day, roughly one month after he had left that Keitaro found himself at the island airport bidding his mentor and team goodbye. He missed everyone at the Hinata Inn so badly he couldn't' wait to get back and see everyone. His thoughts, naturally, stayed upon his brunette girlfriend the whole flight home and more than anyone else he couldn't wait to see her again. They hadn't really had the most ideal goodbye before he left and he was anxious to make up for that the second he got home. All too soon, he found himself walking down the terminal and out into Tokyo Airport, the line of beautiful women standing just to the left immediately recognizable.

"WELCOME HOME KEITARO!" The spontaneous cry rang out as soon as he was spotted and he found himself enveloped into a giant group hug by a few of the younger denizens under his care. He gave them all a wide smile and looked upon each of their faces in turn with great affection. Kitsune, Motoko, Haruka, Shinobu, Su, Mutsumi and even Sarah turned out for the event. But he couldn't help notice that one person was missing, the one person he wanted to see more than everyone else. His happy expression turned into a thoughtful one as he looked around the group, sure hat he had probably just missed the girl and she was waiting for the right moment to give him a private greeting. After a moment of careful searching however, he determined that she, indeed, wasn't present.

"Where's Naru?" he asked slowly, confused as to why each of the residents wouldn't meet his eye after he asked that question. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternally long minute Kitsune came forward and clapped her hands on his shoulders with a thoughtful frown on her face.

"Don't really know, hon. She stayed long enough to take her test, find out she passed and then just disappeared. Tell you the truth, we're getting kind of worried now because no one has heard from her in about a week or so."

Keitaro took all of this in with a numb, shell-shocked feeling slowly creeping its way through his body. He was finally brought out of it but his aunt of all people who gave him an affectionate, if brief, pat on the shoulder. It was likely all of the consolation he would get out of the woman, but even that much was more than he could have possibly expected.

"Don't worry Kei, she known what time you're coming home and probably just had some things to sort out before you returned. I wouldn't think too much on it." She replied around an unlit cigarette, her eyes conveying all the emotion she dared not display in public towards her nephew.

Keitaro smiled gratefully at his aunt. "Thanks, Haruka. I'm sure that you're right." He raised his voice then, and plastered a smile on his face, determined not to be sad in front of all the rest of his friends. "Now, what do you say we all head home? I am positively aching to see the run down piece of dirt Inn once again!"

"Yeah!" He was answered by a cheer from Su and Shinobu, who had missed the more subtle conversations of a moment ago.

A scant hour later, Keitaro was throwing his stuff in his own room and wondering silently if Naru was all right. It wasn't like her to just disappear without telling anyone and he found he could not come up with a reasonable reason as to why she would change now. Just then a piece of paper slid of his desk and came to a rest at his feet. Curious as to who would have left a sheet of paper on his desk he picked it up and determined immediately that it was a letter of some sort, more specifically a letter addressed to him. As he began to read, the realization downed upon him that it was Naru's handwriting.

_Dear Keitaro,_

_If you're reading this, then I assume that you have come home from your trip. First of all, I wish to say how proud I am that you decided to follow your dreams and take a great step forward to making them come true. I am sad that I wasn't able to be there to greet you, as I want nothing more than for you to be happy and I know you were probably disappointed by my absence._

_The truth is, that I did some heavy thinking while you were away and as happy as I was with you I realize that I couldn't continue to make you happy. You have your dreams now, and while I was a part of them for quite some time the ones you made recently for yourself are much more important. I realized after what we did the night before you left that I couldn't continue on like that, ashamed at myself for thinking that perhaps it was too soon or that perhaps it could have gone a lot better. I don't know what came over me that morning but all I knew was that I couldn't talk to you until I figured this stuff out. I'm sorry._

_I am also sorry for what I have to say next, but I'm sure that you would agree that it will be for the best. I have decided to temporarily move back to my parents' house. You will find the last months rent in an envelope in my room. I'm sorry for it to be so sudden but once I realized we couldn't be together anymore I had to find a way to leave for a little while. I truly am sorry that it had to happen this way but you would have soon come to realize the same thing I have, that I just can't make you happy. I hope you will forgive me for this someday but I won't hold my breath. I truly am sorry. Please do not come after me, it will only complicate things further. I wish nothing bad upon you, and I know that you will find happiness without me. It simply must be this way. Goodbye, Keitaro._

_Love,_

Naru Narusegawa 

Keitaro stared at the words in the piece of paper, but he couldn't quite make himself re-read the letter in order to make sure it actually said what he thought it said. What was going on here? Wasn't everything going so well before he left? Why was this happening now? Slowly he felt a headache like none he had ever felt come on. It crept up from the base of his head and spread its way to his temples, filling his mind with sharp lancing pain. The letter was forgotten soon enough as the pain increased ten fold and he fell into the fetal position holding his head tightly.

She was gone. Left, she couldn't make him happy anymore? The thoughts ran back and forth inside Keitaro's head at a rapid fire pace making his head spin at a dizzying rate. It came to a crest as the dizziness overcame his control and he coughed up his lunch as his mind tried to gain control of his senses. Mindless of the mess he had just made, Keitaro rocked to the other side of his body, moaning his pain and trying to quiet his mind from the myriad thoughts going through his brain. All the while he became aware of a slow pressure building at the back of his eyes, as if they were going to burst out of his sockets in order to relieve the unbearable pressure.

Then, just like that, the pressure released itself as a bright searing white light that was too much for his already overloaded brain to handle. He screamed his agony, a sound that reverberated all across the Inn, that carried all his pain both emotional and physical in its high-pitched release. Numbly he felt his vocal chords strain and then break against the onslaught of sound they were trying to produce, but Keitaro didn't care. He was too busy trying to cure the amazing pain in his head. Then, just as his ears registered footsteps rushing to his location his mind snapped into two and went blessedly blank, overcome with the safety of oblivion.

End, Part 1 

_**A note from the author: **Welcome, dear readers to the end of part one of Wisdom of Snow. I must say that it is quite different from what I imagined it to be when I first thought up this little work many months ago. Already it is almost three times longer than I thought it would be and three more chapters. Yet, I find myself only halfway through the story now, a whole different part to come after this. Now, I find myself finally at the juncture where things get interesting from a certain point of view. What do I do with all of the threads I opened up? I haven't a clue really, but rest assured they will be answered as best as they can. I only know one truth in this whole story, and that is where it ends. Getting there will be an adventure in itself. _

_So, we also find ourselves at the end of Yuki's beginning role, though she has more roles to play later on. And what of Naru you ask? Well, that will be resolved as well, though probably not in the way that the early tone of this story suggests, I really like Naru, I really do…but there was another angle I wanted to explore in this work and I needed something to make Keitaro's mind…well, snap. Don't worry, uber powerful Keitaro is definitely not in this story, but he will come out of this, different. What better way to make a mind snap than to break the heart, eh? Well I suppose that's it for now. I hope you all will come back for part two. Sorry this took so long to come out but this week was a real hard one as far as coming up with the mood to write. Once again, let me thank everyone who has reviewed and has read to this point. It is much appreciated._


	5. Part 2, Chapter 1

**_A note from the author: _**_Hi, everyone. Here it is, finally. I will be the first to admit that this one took way too long to complete. But there were a lot of things that I had to consider in this chapter that I am not the best at writing. Lots and lots of feelings and such that I really had a hard time putting down on paper, despite the fact that I knew where I wanted it to go. But now that that is finally done I can begin to write this piece in earnest again. Chapter 2 is coming along and you will be kept informed via my bio page how it's going. Until then, I present to you the first chapter of part 2. As always, read carefully, review truthfully and we'll see you again shortly. All standard disclaimers apply._

**The Wisdom of Snow**

**Part 2**

**Author: Garasu**

"Hey Boss! Come over here and take a look at this!"

Seta Noriyasu looked up from his current position and squinted his eyes in the bright desert sun. It was incredibly bright out today, and even with the special polarized sunglasses that he was wearing, the Tokyo University professor had a hard time seeing past the glare the sun created. He took the time to wipe his forehead dry from the sweat and grime that had collected there since he began working early that afternoon before getting up slowly and walking over to the coworker whom had called him.

"What do you have there, Tori?" He asked once he got within comfortable talking distance, looking at the object the middle aged man held within his fingers.

"Don't know, Sir. Came out of the ground easy as you please, though the area around here is pretty hard dirt. Doesn't look like it belongs at this site, though, what do you think?"

Seta surveyed the item carefully and extended his hand in a silent question to hand it over for him to take a closer look. When the object entered his hands his experienced eyes took at a look at it from all angles, turning it left and right trying to find any distinguishing marks to tell where it might have come from.

At first glance, he surmised that the object, about the size of his palm, was a clay jar. Nothing really special in the grand scheme of things though it didn't seem to show any sort of damage at all. They pulled stuff like this out of the ground all the time. But then his eyes caught the faint trace of paint on the surface, and though it was hard to make out it seemed to resemble something of a triangular shape with shades of green and white at the apex of each point. Seta's hands traced the pattern silently, his mouth chewing hard on the cigarette in concentration. He had seen those marks before, or at least something similar, but he couldn't remember from where no matter how hard he searched his memory. Though one thing was certain, after a few more glances at the pattern painted upon the jar, it was different than anything they had yet to find in the area, and that alone made it worth the closer look.

He handed the small jar back to Tori, and smiled at the man. "Run a scan on it back at the camp, will you? I'd be especially interested in the markings on the surface here. All the usual stuff, but pay special attention to the color enhancer will you? I'd like a clearer picture of this painted relief. Something tells me it could be important."

"You got it boss."

Seta watched as his worked went off in the direction of the camp, his hands idly scrubbing at the stubble on his chin as he tried once again to place where he had seen a pattern similar to the one he thought he saw on the jar. After a few more minutes spent trying to wander the convoluted paths of his memory he gave up and shrugged. The pattern would become clear in a few hours anyway as the color enhancer would scan the surface of the jar for any traces of the organic compounds used in primitive paints and then generate a picture of the original relief based on the results it found. He'd have a much better time with his memory once the full picture came into focus. With that, he turned around with the intention to make his way back to the pit he had originally been working in before he was interrupted. There was still plenty of daylight left to try and finish the tracings of the murals he and Urashima had found a few weeks previously after all.

However, a noise distracted him before he could turn his full attention back to the tracings and he looked over in the direction from which it had come.

_Strange, _he thought. _Sounded like it came from camp but I don't see anything wrong._ He thought, glaring through the desert heat. Then his sharp eyes caught a brief flash of color running amongst the camps white tents. At first he thought it was just a camp worker but when he looked around him, he realized that with the exception of Tori, they were all surrounding him, working on clearing the lower portions of the mural or separately digging trenches around the excavation site, trying to get the entire mural wall uncovered. There should have been no one in that general area. Then his ears caught the noise again and since he was looking in the direction he was able to see what caused it. Someone, or something was apparently running from tent to tent and looking for something.

"Keep working guys, I need to check something out," he called back to his team and received affirmative grunts in response. Then he climbed out of his shallow ditch and headed in the direction of the camp, a sturdy dirt axe on his shoulder, just in case.

As he came within better distance of the camp, he could now see that his surmise had been correct. A few papers that should have been tucked away in a tent were fluttering about on the ground, and a few objects had even rolled themselves out of the tent flaps. Now that he was nearer to the tents he could also hear better the noises that had first attracted his attention.

As silently as he could, Seta snuck up to the tent that the noises were coming from and eased the door flap open to a sliver. As soon as he did so, a figure became immediately apparent in the shady confines of the tent, and it was clear that the man was up to no good. He was running around the living space, with apparently no definite pattern, but everywhere the man visited he left a mess behind. Desks, chairs, drawers, none were spared as the figure went randomly about and tossed objects all over the place. As far as the archeologist could see, though, the man was not searching for anything- merely making a mess as he had probably done the first time Keitaro and Seta had happened upon their destroyed tent. There was no doubt in the archeologist's mind that this was their troublemaker of weeks past.

Seta eased the flap closed for a few moments and contemplated what exactly he should do. One thing was for certain, he didn't know if the troublemaker was armed or not and that made him dangerous to confront. But then again, troublemakers such as the vandal inside the tent rarely were armed as their job was solely to make life difficult for the intended victim. So that left the Tokyo University professor at an impasse…to confront or not?

The professor would have just turned around and fetched a few of his more studier workers just then were it not for a brief feeling of recklessness coming over Seta at that moment. Suddenly, he felt like revisting a few adventures of his older days, and besides, since Urashima wasn;t around he hadn't had a good fight in a while. So with his mind made up, Seta placed the axe next to the tent flap and walked inside, a carefree expression on his face; as if he didn't expect to find anyone inside.

"Say, don't you think the owner of this tent would be awfully mad at this mess you're making?" Seta announced in a lighthearted voice, scaring the man before him into a quick turning jump. As the stranger stared at him, Seta was able to quickly size the man up.

Obviously, he was not accustomed to the heat here, as the man – looking to be in his mid thirties or so – was not dressed to deal with it appropriately. He was sweating profusely in his casual khakis and collared shirt and the tacky hat looked about filled to saturation. He was Japanese, of that Seta was certain, which seemed to confirm that this wasn't just some random local looking to stop 'grave desecration' as some called Seta's chosen profession. Overall, the man's average height and slightly athletic frame was utterly unimpressive. It also became immediately apparent that his earlier worry that the man might be armed was moot point and was therefore not very threatening in the least.

Unfortunately, the stranger could not know that the archeologist just came to the conclusion that he was a non-threat and panicked that he had been found out.

"It'll be a lot messier when I'm through with you!" The stranger yelled as he rushed the taller man, pulling back for a punch that might have landed with some force if Seta hadn't dodged quickly and efficiently.

"Whoa there!" Seta teased humorously, watching as the man spun around, unfazed that he had just missed by a mile and came around for another swing. "Could hurt someone with that thing!"

The left hook the man threw at Seta's head went wide again but this time spun the stranger off balance. Seta capitalized quickly and tossed out a leg to trip the man up, forcing the intruder to land heavily on the ground. As his opponent rolled quickly away and got to his feet, Seta was forced to at least admire his tenacity, though his technique left much to be desired. How was it that this guy become a henchman if he didn't know how to even fight properly? His higher opinion of the man's tenacity lasted only for a few moments, however, as the intuder attacked sloppily again, clearly broadcasting that this time he was going for a straight punch with the right arm.

"My newest student could read that, you know. Probably should work on your technique," Seta informed his opponent at the same time he blocked the punch and dropped the man on the ground again. It tooka few moments for the intruder to get over the fact that he had been dumped on the ground again and in this moment, Seta stood over him and gave him a happy-go-lucky smile. "Now how about we discuss your reasons for being here? It is restricted grounds you know."

Apparently, the stranger finally figured out that he was outclassed and could not fight his way out of the situation, because his next move was to switch from fight to flight mode. Unfortunately, his flight was made rather difficult by the fact that Seta was standing over him, blocking his attempts to get up and run. His despeation grew by the moment and the University professor was amused at his ever increasingly frantic attempts to get up.

"I don't have to tell you anything!" The man called nervously, looking in every direction for an avenue of escape. Finally he tried a poor feint to one side then tried to duck around Seta's leg the other way, hopefully clearing a way for him to finally get to his feet. Unfortunately, the feint was very easily seen by the much more experienced Seta and he blocker the effort effortlessly.

"Ah, now see, I think you'll agree that you're quite wrong with that." Seta told him amiably, just before he shot his hands down to take advantage of a pressure point on the man's chest, knocking him unconscious.

"Now, what to do with you?" He asked, though he knew no reply would come. Seta looked around the room for a moment before looking down at the man once again. "I suppose we'll just have to find something."

In next to no time the archeologist had the intruder tied to a chair and he cracked his knuckles menacingly as he sat backwards in his own chair and waited for his new prisoner to wake up. There were many questions he needed answered, after all, and patience was always the key to getting what one wanted. At least in some things, patience was definitely something Seta had in spades.

-

"Hey, Kitsune, are you going to help with these decorations you insisted upon buying for the party or are you going to sit and watch?" Motoko stared at the resident slacker with her arms crossed over her chest and a stern expression on her face. Shinobu was off preparing dinner, Su and Sarah were busier making a mess rather than helping leaving the kendo girl to do pretty much all of the non-culinary preparations for the party and it was starting to wear her patience thin. After all, this whole party thing was the Kitsune's idea in the first place!

Kitsune merely smiled flippantly and looked over at the cross young woman from her position on the couch. "Hmmm, well, I figured that since I bought the decorations and everything and I'm also supplying the alcohol for later that I had done my part." The foxy woman chuckled at the exasperated sound Motoko made in response and made a salute with her sake cup. "Relax, Kendo, everything will be fine. You're doing a great job!"

"And how many times in the years we have lived together that I have asked you to refrain from calling me 'kendo?' It's what I do not my name." Motoko snapped back, but continued to hang the streamers anyway. In the current mood she was in, she was about to demand Keitaro's help but as this party was in his favor and a sort of surprise she figured it probably wouldn't be such a good idea. They had sent him off to unpack before coming down to dinner and used that excuse to make all the preparations before everything was to begin. Not for the first time, she began to wish Naru were back.

Motoko shifted her gaze from the current streamer she was pinning in place to Kitsune once again. The older girl didn't seem like anything fazed her, but Motoko knew better. She knew that of everyone, Naru's sudden behavior and absence was affecting her more than she let on. The others, it seemed, were only slightly less affected but it was still apparent.

_What could have happened?_ She wondered, endlessly repeating the question over and over in her head since Naru's departure. She began acting really strange the day Keitaro left, that much was certain, and she could still remember the brunette's odd behavior in the bath that morning. After their manager departed, it seemed like everything had gone back to normal for a little while at least. Mutsumi still came over and studied often, and Naru had locked herself in her room with her books. It was like that up until the day of the test, more or less, then it graduated to a tense atmosphere until the results were posted a few weeks later. All perfectly acceptable behavior for most that knew Naru. The party that they had had for the newly made Tokyo University students was a bash that would be remembered for many years to come.

Then the fax came.

Motoko held no allusions about that piece of paper. It merely confirmed everything she and everyone else believed when it came to Keitaro: that all his hard work was beginning to pay off and that his dreams were finally beginning to come true. It seemed like everything was going to end up happily ever after, but then Naru returned to her brooding attitude and seemed to close herself off once again from everyone around her. There was nothing that could have been done, no matter what they tried to do no one could cheer the girl up. Then came the day that she announced that she was returning home for at least the first semester. At that point, Motoko became sure that something had happened between Naru and Keitaro, something no one knew about. The hardest part about everything was trying to find a way to tell their manager once he got home. Naru had said she took care of that, but Motoko was not exactly sure what that meant.

Any further ruminations were cut off, however, when a strange feeling overcame the kendoka just then. She stopped nailing the streamer that she was currently working on and glanced about her, trying to locate the source of her sudden unease. Pressure was the first thing that came to her mind when trying to classify the reason the small hairs at the back of her neck were standing up. It was an odd sort of pressure that she had never felt before, like a storm about to crest but much more subtle. Her rational mind tried to classify it as a building of ki, but there was no one in the local area with the kind of depth she was feeling.

Motoko's eyes widened slightly when she realized then that there actually was someone that fit that description…but it was locked away wasn't it?

A moment later she received her answer in a form that nearly shook her to the core. A scream erupted from Keitaro's room unlike anything she had ever heard before. Within moments everyone was either up from the couch or piling into the room trying to figure out what was happening. Being the first to figure it out, and where exactly the scream was coming from Motoko shot off the ladder she was standing on like a bullet launched from a gun. She hit the ground running and was up the stairs that led to the manager's room in the blink of an eye. It didn't take the others much longer to catch up to her and by the time Motoko was shoving the shoji door open they were behind her.

The second she stepped into the threshold she stopped, however, causing everyone to pile into her.

"What? What is it?" Shinobu announced nervously from the rear of the group, trying to find a way around the pile of bodies in front of her and see what it was they were staring at. When she finally was able to accomplish this, she froze and her voice immediately halted in her throat. She opened her mouth in a vague attempt to say 'Sempai' but nothing came out that was more than a frightened squeak.

The silence was almost physical as the group of young women looked at the unconscious figure before them. Keitaro was balled into a tight fetal position, and every once in a while his body collapsed into a fit of convulsions. Whatever had happened to the young man had caused enough pain so that his face, which they could just barely make out tucked into his arms as tight as they were, was frozen in a mask of desperate despair. It broke all of the girl's hearts immediately.

Shinobu, oddly enough, was the first person to break from their stupor and slowly make her way over to the curled figure.

"Sempai?" She called softly, finding her voice once again. His only response was let lose a fit of convulsions. "Sempai, can you her me?" She tried again, only to have the same results. She turned tearful eyes back to Motoko, who as the first girl through the door was also the nearest one at hand, and asked in a tremulous voice, "what happened to him?"

Motoko, herself just coming out of her shock, shook her head. "I don't know, Shinobu," she said quietly. She slowly approached the shuddering body, her senses becoming more acute the closer she got. "It feels…it feels as if his consciousness snapped." She nearly whispered, falling gently down to her knees to do a more thorough ki scan.

The second she placed her hands in the proper position to do so, however, they snapped back as if they had been burned. She didn't even need to delve deeper than a basic surface scan as the pieces finally fell into place as to what could have caused such a reaction. The departing words of Yuki pounced upon her and gave her all the answers she needed: Keitaro burned out. The barrier that held his Potential in check all these years was now gone and now that she was aware of it Motoko could practically feel the ki rolling off Keitaro in waves. Even unconscious the magnitude was staggering!

The young woman placed a hand on her forehead and tried to block the unchecked, raw ki flooding her very being. When she finally was able to supply a thick enough barrier on herself she turned to her companions.

"I know what is wrong…but I cannot fix it here. He will require the aide of my clan elders to make him whole again. But first, I need to make sure he is fit to travel." Motoko chose not to elaborate upon her statement, though the confused looks the other residents sent her more than plainly told her that they had not understood a word of it. There was simply not enough time to make full explanations here. "I will require that you all wait outside, this will need complete concentration from myself."

She received more blank stares in response, but once again, it was Shinobu who first moved. She gathered up the others and led them gently outside. When she finished her task, she turned to Motoko and gave her a sad look that needed no insightfulness into the girl's mind to interpret.

"I will do my best, Shinobu," Motoko whispered to the girl, not at all sure about what she was about to do, and too scared to even listen to the voice inside her head that told her what would happen if she didn't succeed. She had never done something on this scale before, and now to do a full ki suppression? _Sister watch over me and be my guide,_ she prayed to herself.

Shinobu merely nodded and quietly closed the door, leaving the young woman alone with Keitaro and facing a monumental task that she never could have imagined herself facing. She slowly took a deep breath, centered herself and dove into the task before her, trying not to think about the consequences if she should fail.

Hours later, it seemed, Motoko finally rose from her position, her knees positively aching and her head facing a headache of monumental proportions. She had very nearly failed, but somehow managed to pull everything together when she felt a strange presence that could only have been Yuki's protections coming into play from the spiritual plane. The weight of her accomplishment finally sunk in when she could no longer feel the raw ki coming from the now comfortably sleeping Keitaro, and was very glad for the young man's hidden protective spirit. It was a temporary fix, she knew. If she could not get the young man to her clan elders soon, all of her efforts would be in vain, but at least now, they had some time.

She wearily stepped out of the room only to run into Kitsune guarding the door, apparently making sure no one entered and disturbed Motoko's task.

"It's done, then?" The older dirty blonde asked, stealing a look into the room before Motoko closed the sliding doors behind her.

The young kendoka merely nodded wearily, then indicated with her hands that Kitsune should precede her down the hall. "I need to see everyone before we leave, to explain what has happened."

Kitsune nodded in agreement then went ahead to gather all of the other women in the dorm. They all met silently in the living room on the first floor, morosely settling into their places to hear what Motoko had to say.

The young woman stared at the group gathered around her before taking a deep calming breath, then she began to speak.

"It is done. I have managed to suppress him sufficiently enough so that I can move him to my family's dojo in Kyoto without trouble. We will hopefully be able to take care of him there. He will wake in a few hours, but I must warn you, Urashima will not be himself. He will be completely open to outside persuasion, as I have suppressed every aspect of his personality. He will follow orders without question, but at least he will be able to move freely so that we may not attract undue attention during traveling. I will take him as soon as we can pack a few essentials, and I do not know how long we will be gone."

"Um, Motoko…" Shinobu hesitantly raised her hand, and waited until she received a nod in response before continuing. "I noticed you said 'hopefully,' do you not think that your elders will be able to fix him?"

Motoko paused briefly, unsure of just how much to share with the group before her. Should she tell them everything? Or maybe spare their feelings and gloss over a bit of the details? In the end, she decided for the direct approach, though she was certain that certain people wouldn't take it too well.

"Yes, I said hopefully because I am not altogether sure that we will be able to make him whole again." Motoko let her statement sink in and noted the quick gasp that came from Shinobu. "We will do everything we can to make sure he is healed, but I must be honest…the last time something similar to this happened we were only able to save the man's sanity. He was forever scarred afterwards."

A startled sob led Motoko to look up from the floor, where her eyes had somehow wandered during her explanation, to Shinobu's face. The tear tracks were obvious and the young girl's eyes were shimmering with fresh liquid. It broke the normally stern woman's heart to see the innocent young chef in such a state but the truth had to be told. She would never forgive herself if she had given the young girl false hope only to have to dash it. She watched as Kitsune took the girl under her arms and hugged her to her body, thankful that there was another adult around to share in the burden. As it was, one look at Su and her depressed countenance and Sarah's unbelieving stare told the young woman that there would be plenty of venting going on later.

A sudden twitch in her leg muscles suddenly reminded Motoko of just how exhausted she really was. She looked upon the group before her and added one final comment. "We will leave as soon as he wakes up. I will need a few things of his packed, enough clothes for a week, and other necessities. I will take care of my own packing later, now if you will excuse me I need to rest, we have much to do ahead of us." With that, Motoko left the others to make sure that Keitaro's things were packed and made her weary way up to her room. As it was she would have just enough time for a short nap before Keitaro woke up and she knew that for the journey they would need all the energy she could manage. Motoko didn't even bother to undress herself before she unrolled her futon and collapsed upon it, out within moments.

-

"Sister?"

Motoko looked up at the sound of her name and found her older sister, Tsuruko, standing in the frame of her doorway.

"How is he?" Motoko asked immediately. She had delivered the repressed Keitaro to the knowledgeable hands of her family merely hours ago, as soon as she had arrived at the familial grounds. They had then proceeded to usher her out of the room, much to her disgruntlement, and the young woman hadn't heard anything since. The fact that her elder sister, whom was allowed to stay in the room with Keitaro, was visiting her now meant that some news had to be available.

The older woman made her way into the room and sat gracefully down in front of Motoko before composing herself to speak. Trying to come up with something to say. She didn't know that with each passing moment that her sister procrastinated though, a terrible knot built up and twisted itself within the younger woman's stomach.

"He is stable," Tsuruko eventually acknowledged after a long sigh that spoke much of the mental exhaustion that she must have been feeling. "We managed to repair most of the damage done to his mind, but at this time it is unknown if it was enough. Unfortunately, the only thing we can do now is wait for him to wake up."

Motoko sighed and bowed her head, a resigned expression on her face.

"I was afraid you were going to say that."

"Motoko, is there anything that is bothering you?" Tsuruko asked concernedly. Of course, the mere fact that this happened to one of her housemates counted for something, but the elder sister could not remember a time when her sister seemed so lost.

Motoko, sensing her older sister's concern gave her a wan smile. "I have just had a lot on my mind lately, sister. Then this happened and I was forced to do something that I had never even practiced before, and because it is so rare I was worried I might have done something wrong…"

Motoko trailed off then, though the look in her eyes told her sister that she wanted to continue speaking, yet was unsure of how much she should let out. Aware that her stoic young sister repressed many normal feelings and emotions in her life and rarely let anything trouble her so greatly as to need to talk about them, Tsuruko dropped her somewhat formal posture and gathered her younger sister in a comforting hug. It was enough to make the dam crack just a little more in Motoko's mind. Unmindful of the tears now making her gi wet, the elder swordswoman listen carefully as her little sister continued.

"And then…then there are nights I lay awake and wonder, wonder why I should care so much about this person. I don't know how to act around him anymore, sister. My heart and my mind are telling me two different things at once and now this has happened. I'm afraid that I might do something wrong now that might hurt him greater than he has been already."

Tsuruko sighed and patter her younger sister on the back consolingly. She was unsure of what exactly to say to help Motoko through her confusion, though a lot of that stemmed from the fact that she did not really know what Motoko and Keitaro were to each other, nor did she know much of the circumstances that led up to Keitaro's overload. She did know that the young man would come out of this situation changed, however, though just how much remained to be seen.

"I cannot offer any advice on what to do Motoko," Tsuruko answered truthfully, the fact that she had used her sisters name lent strength to her reply. "It will all greatly depend on how Keitaro is when he wakes up."

Within her arms, Motoko sighed and sniffled rather cutely, the tears- for now- abated. The sisters continued to hug for some time, reveling in an action that had been left behind for the most part in their childhood. Eventually, however, it was time for them to separate and continue on with their various daily errands. As they stood up, Motoko carefully wiped her eyes to delete any evidence of her crying then turned with a much more relieved smile towards her older sister.

"Thank you, sister, for everything today."

Tsuruko merely nodded and gave her younger sibling one last quick hug. "It was nothing, Motoko. I could not bear to see my little sister in such great pain and I am glad that you trust me enough to unburden your fears. In regards to Keitaro, give it some time. Treat him with kindness when he wakes up and go from there. It will be slow going, I am sure, but I have faith that whatever you should want you will get as long as you have patience and trust yourself to do and say the right things."

"Hai."

With her final words, Tsuruko opened the door and walked in the direction of the dojo. Motoko, however, did not follow her sister out, but merely shut the door once again and returned to her seat. It had been a long day but there was still much to do in regards to making plans for Keitaro's eventual return to consciousness. Strangely enough, Yuki's final words came to her just then and the young swordswoman set her face in a mask of determination at the young snow spirits final request.

"Yes, I will make sure he gets better with the best of my abilities to do so."

-

Keitaro woke up what seemed to be days later, or at least that what his full bladder and empty stomach tried to convince him the second he opened his eyes. In his groggy confusion he must have made some kind of noise because within an instant a beautiful woman appeared within his vision, one that he did not recognize immediately, though she held an uncanny resemblance to Motoko.

Seeing the confusion in his eyes as he sat up and regarded her carefully, the woman gave him a friendly smile and offered a polite bow.

"Ah, I see that you are finally up. We were beginning to worry," she said after she came up from her bow. Her voice was soft and melodious, and altogether very calming on Keitaro's confused mind. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Urashima, as I have heard much of you from my younger sister."

"Younger sister?" Keitaro croaked out, his voice long out of practice apparently. Though he winced at the sound of it, it appeared as if his companion did not seem to notice it at all.

"Yes, my name is Tsuruko Aoyama, and Motoko is my younger sister. You are currently in one of the guest rooms at our ancestral home in Kyoto. Do you remember at all how you got here?"

Keitaro searched his memory then and came up with vague images of trains and hearing voices and plenty of walking but nothing was really standing out to his foggy mind so he shook his head in the negative. Perhaps now he could get some answers from Tsuruko?

"I see," Tsuruko gave him an appraising stare then, one that made him supremely uncomfortable. "Well, I suppose that my sister can fill you in on the exact details in a short while. For now, I am sure that you would like to see about using the restroom and perhaps having a bit of lunch while you wait?"

Keitaro nodded gratefully and tried to verbalize his thanks but this time, the sound that came from his throat sounded nothing like the word he intended to say. Tsuruko, for her part, merely covered her mouth with a delicate hand and giggled a bit,

"Motoko will be along shortly, I am sure. The toilette is merely on the opposite side of the hall from your room and you may use it anytime you wish as well as the bath in the adjacent room. I hope you will find your visit here comfortable. If you need anything all you have to do is ask and we will do our best to accommodate. I shall leave you some privacy now and return with something to eat." With her last word, Tsuruko unfolded her legs elegantly and rose off the ground in one smooth motion. With a small last look in his direction she exited the door and turned immediately to her left.

As soon as Tsuruko left the room Keitaro heaved a great sigh and fell back into his bed. Everything was such a mess. He couldn't remember how in the world he got to Motoko's home, or even the reason why he was here. Naru disappeared on him with some silly thing about him not being able to be happy with her. He hadn't heard from Yuki in a while, so that meant she was probably out of the country again so now who was he to talk to? Everything felt so confusing. How in the world had everything gone so wrong? He was finally following his dreams wasn't he? He had finally gotten together with Naru and even took the next step in their relationship before he left for his trip. He had gotten accepted into Tokyo University and had a real chance of doing something he loved, something that wasn't even available to him a year ago. Was it his fault that Naru left him? Searching his feelings on the matter, he concluded that that really was the only thing that seemed to have some semblance of truth to it. That somehow, he had once again managed to bugle things up and because of that Naru didn't want to see him again.

Keitaro blinked rapidly for a moment, his feelings getting the better of him and allowing a few unwanted tears to leak from his eyes. Sometimes, he felt that his never-ending optimism wasted too much energy, and that with everything that went on in his life he should be knee deep in cynicism. It certainly would help in these situations where he felt completely lost and bereft of any means to gain back what was once something good. Realizing where his thoughts were going and trying to distract his mind from the sudden depressing thoughts and more tears that threatened to fall, Keitaro suddenly threw his vision from the plain ceiling to the room in which he now lay.

It was sparse, which was what he kind of expected, being a guest room. Though there seemed to be a subtle warmth to it, as if the room was used often. It was certainly well cared for, though; the rice paper appearing brand new and the tatami floor mats had not a spot on them. There was a small closet for his personal belongings on the right wall, as well as providing a convenient spot for storing his futon mattress when he was up. A small kotatsu table was in the corner, ready to be used anytime and there was even a small teapot atop a portable burner for making tea. All in all he decided then, it was rather cozy, with just the right amount of light streaming in from the paper doors that led outside. In fact, now that he was looking at them, he wondered just what sort of view they offered when opened.

Keitaro hesitantly got up from his bed, careful not to overuse his weak from misuse muscles and slowly made his was to the doors. A quick inspection revealed no locks so with a quick tug he pulled open the right door and blinked as bright light streamed in its place. Once his eyes became accustomed to the light, he opened them once again and stared at the scene before him.

Japan was always a beautiful place in the springtime, and Kyoto was always especially so but the vista in front of him eclipsed everything he had seen in his short life. The Sakura trees were in full bloom and provided a beautiful pink hued tinge to every direction he looked. There was a small pond several paces directly in front of his door and from his vantage point, it looked like it was stocked with koi. The garden trees were all carefully pruned with an attention to detail that was simply amazing. It seemed as if not even one pebble was out of place in this garden.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" A voice called hesitantly from behind him, one that he knew quite well from the year passed. He turned around to see Motoko carrying a small tray that looked loaded to the edge with food and a small pot of steaming liquid that Keitaro assumed was tea. She approached him slowly, her eyes for some reason refusing to meet his own as he watched her cross his room and set the food items at his feet. After a few moments he kneeled to join her, then turned his gaze back to the outdoors.

"Yes, it is," he told her softly. "I haven't been to Kyoto often and this is the most beautiful I have ever seen it." He trailed off uncertainly then, unsure as to which direction he should take the conversation. Should he just come out and ask her what had happened or should he let her bring up the subject herself?

Motoko, for her part, merely remained silent and stared in the same direction as Keitaro. She was supremely uncomfortable then, not having ever had to deal with a situation such as she had just gone through, much less with someone whom she knew. How in the world should she act? What should she say? How does one go about trying to reassure someone whom had just lost one of the most precious things in his life and as a consequence underwent a painful mental burnout? Her sister's words from a few days ago came back to her then and she remembered the resolution she made…but how does one go about treating Keitaro with kindness? Her thoughts kept circling each other, none making themselves more apparent as she argued with herself over what to do.

Finally, a small movement suddenly broke the uneasy silence between the two as Keitaro found he could no longer resist the tempting smells of the food next to him and reached for the bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks.

When Motoko reached for her own in a mirror of his actions Keitaro came to the realization then that there was so much food on the tray because it was lunch for two. He nervously came to the conclusion that she was intending to stay with him and eat lunch herself. Something that, despite all the meals they had eaten together at the same table at the Hinata Inn, he found he was not sure he was altogether comfortable with.

Something had changed between him and Motoko, he realized with a start. Naturally, he was always rather uncomfortable around the young swordswoman ever since he could remember simply because of her lightening quick temper when it came to all things Keitaro. However, this strange feeling went beyond simple fear of her past actions and began to carry over into the realm of simply because it was Motoko…a girl. No…a young woman, for the person next to him could never be mistaken for a girl. Keitaro fidgeted slightly, and tried to unobtrusively move away as far as he could from the swordswoman. Though he was at a loss to try and explain this sudden fear of being near her because as far as he could remember, he hadn't done anything to warrant punishment from the swordswoman…yet.

It was a move that Motoko noticed despite his best effort yet indicated nothing in her facial expression. All truth be told, she rather expected him to be nervous around her because of their past history. He couldn't know that she had resolved to treat him better in the future in the hopes of her own peace of mind. So instead, of attempting to say anything on the matter she tried to stray to something a little more light in conversation as she reached for her own chopsticks and delicately began to eat. Her mind continuing to fail at finding basic conversation so that eventually she gave up and focused her sole attention upon eating.

The two ate for some time without saying anything at all, though it wasn't in the least a comfortable silence. Both young people were trying desperately to bring up the topic of which they were afraid to speak. Keitaro desperately wanted to know what had happened after he had blacked out yet didn't just want to come out and ask and Motoko wanted to assure the young man next to her that everything was, from a mental standpoint, okay. She also desperately wanted to keep things away from controversial subjects, like Naru and what happened to make his mind collapse as it had. Though she also wanted to stay away from what her elders had done to fix him. She wasn't even sure why the procedure had been a success, when all evidence should have pointed it to turning out much worse. When she questioned any of her family the most she was able to get out of anyone was that Tsuruko commented on the fact that he was both very strong in body and spirit, though the elder Aoyama suspected that something else had a play in Keitaro's complete recovery. Motoko had yet to explain Yuki to her elder sister, though she knew her older sister would be interested in hearing about it. It wasn't often that one came across a protective spirit doing what Yuki was doing.

Eventually, food could no longer be an excuse to stray from talking. When all the food had been eaten, and even the steaming tea had been reduced to lukewarm dregs, the two looked at each other hesitantly. As it happened, Keitaro was the first to overcome the mounting tension but only a split second before his female companion. Motoko was just about to open her mouth to speak when Keitaro suddenly blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

"Motoko? How in the world did I come to be here?" He asked, letting a bit of the frustration of trying to figure the solution out himself leak into his tone. His eyes widened as soon as he finished his question though and immediately sought to correct the problem. "Please forgive me for being so rude!" He shouted, and then lowered his voice once he realized that he had yelled. "I meant no disrespect, but really, it's been driving me crazy trying to figure out how I got here from Hinata when I know I haven't been awake since then."

Motoko blinked back her fidget after Keitaro let loose and took a few moments to compose herself and to think of a proper answer. This was one of the things she had hoped to not get into until later, but since he had asked she was duty bound to answer. There wasn't any real way to sugar coat the answer either, though she wasn't the type of person to do so anyway. After a few more seconds of deliberation on what, and more importantly, how to tell him what had happened, the young woman began to speak.

"It began, as I am sure you are aware, when you passed out. You had what my family refers to as a burnout. An episode where one's Potential suddenly tears itself loose from the bonds that hold it back within one's mind. Since your Potential is of a substantial enough size it overwhelmed your conscious mind and overloaded it, as it were." Motoko regarded Keitaro's confused expression and sighed at her predicament. How does one go about explaining something that had been ingrained into her since she could speak? It was like explaining to someone how she walked, just something that she knew how to do and couldn't really explain it.

"Potential?" Keitaro eventually put his confusion into words. "Burnout? It all sounds terribly complicated."

"It isn't really," Motoko said at length. "Unfortunately I am not the best person to explain this either as my teaching technique is what my sister would call very lacking." She sighed and tried to reorganize her thoughts to better explain, at least temporarily, what she was trying to get across.

"Think of it this way. Everyone is born with Potential though sometimes it is grouped in with Ki, which I am sure you have heard of. No matter who that person is, when they are born they arrive in this world with a finite amount of ability to do anything they desire. We call this innate ability to do things Potential. As the person grows he or she shapes this Potential by how they live their life but as they get older this finite Potential also shrinks. The older one is when they find their true path, the less Potential that person has available to them. If you can imagine it as a clock that begins ticking the moment we are born, the more ticks the clock makes the less it has before the clock dies."

Keitaro blinked. It wasn't a very good explanation, but it did give him a sort of idea as to what she was talking about. "Okay…I think I know what you are getting at. But how does that have to do with me?"

"I am about to get there, actually. The episode you had, burnout, is very rare. It happens to people who, for lack of a better phrase, the clock never started ticking. We are not sure why this happens, but when it does all that Potential or Ki, remains the same no matter what age that person is. To compensate for this, it is usually sealed safely out of the way by the person's own mind behind the one of the many barriers the conscious mind uses to ensure that it runs smoothly. Potential in any amount is rather a lot to handle for a human mind without some form of training to handle it. If one works hard enough, they may access this Ki and apply it to their chosen craft and in doing so may become true masters. More often than not, however, these inherent abilities are merely used sparingly and that person never achieves the mastery they could have if they had but dedicated themselves."

"Burnout occurs when the Potential one has sealed away is forced out, usually due to some traumatic event. When the barrier is broken the raw Ki floods the conscious mind, which is not equipped to handle such an influx normally and shuts itself down. Those poor souls are never quite whole afterwards, they are usually left with enormous mental scars and headaches that are debilitating in the extreme sense of the word."

Keitaro, amazed at what he was hearing, lifted a shaking arm and stared at his own hand as if it suddenly turned green. "So you are saying I had one of these burnouts? But I feel fine."

Motoko sighed and looked at Keitaro sadly. "That is an answer I cannot provide for you. Every piece of evidence in my family's records indicate that it should not be so. But for some reason, you appear completely healed. I am at a loss to explain it." She shook her head slightly. Though now, she did have some idea as to why Keitaro made it though the ordeal whole, she just could not explain to him Yuki's true nature yet. She had promised the girl that she wouldn't let him know after all.

"But, to bring us back to the subject, after your episode I managed to seal your mind to itself. It completely suppressed your personality so that you could move and follow simple directions but not anything else. That is what enabled me to lead you here so that my family could attempt to heal you."

"You managed to do that? Have you ever done something like that before?" Keitaro quietly asked the young woman, respecting her abilities even more than he thought possible.

Motoko drew her eyes to the ground, embarrassed and ashamed to admit the fact that she had not. She really shouldn't have attempted such a dangerous technique without prior practice but there simply had been no time. In that regard, she completely understood the fact that Keitaro would be slightly mad at her.

"Thank you," Keitaro breathed, surprising Motoko so that she jerked her head up and stared directly into his sincere eyes. "I don't know why you did that, but you could have left me alone. I wanted to, you know, not wake up. The pain was so much that it was unbearable and I was hoping to never wake up. I don't even really know if I should be awake and well now…but over everything else thank you."

Motoko's eyes watered slightly upon hearing Keitaro's death wish, but simply passed it away to the emotions of the moment, and then dropped her gaze once more. To allow one to see such weakness was unbecoming. At a loss to say anything more, the two dropped back into a tension filled silence; one that was broken yet again by Keitaro when he suddenly lifted himself off the ground, giving the young woman an apologetic grimace as he rose.

"I…um…have to use the bathroom. I guess I drank too much tea." He laughed nervously then quietly padded to the door and disappeared around it as soon as he opened it enough to go through.

Motoko stared at the space where he disappeared for a moment before turning her gaze back to the pink vistas outside, wondering as she did so why she couldn't find the words or the strength to try and comfort Keitaro as she should have. Only one such explanation came to her mind though.

"I am such a coward," she told herself before lapsing once again into a thoughtful stare.

-

"One! Two! Three!"

"Again."

"One! Two! Three!"

Keitaro opened the door as quietly as he could, trying to see what in the world could be making such noise at this early in the morning. What he saw once he managed to get the door cracked made him sigh. He should have known; this was a dojo – and a famous one at that – after all. Of course there would be classes here. But for some strange reason when all the noise had woken him up at an ungodly hour his sleepy mind could not recognize the racquet of dozens of students going through drills. As his eyes drifted towards the front of the room however, he was surprised to see that instead of an old sensei or even Motoko's sister leading the drills it was Motoko herself who was wandering among the students, making corrections where needed.

Despite himself, he stood and watched the class for a little while longer, intrigued by the varying patterns that Motoko was leading them through, finding them at once familiar, and very different from anything he had ever seen before. When he was in high school, he had seen plenty of kendo matches but only the bare basics of what he had seen during those matches was visible in these apparently advanced students. So intrigued was he that he had not noticed that he had long since opened the door fully and sat along an adjacent wall to watch, in full view of Motoko and her students.

"Ah, Urashima. You are up I see?" Motoko greeted quietly, walking noiselessly up to him and drawing the young Tokyo University student from his intrigued gaze.

"Um, I hope you don't mind that I found your class a bit interesting to watch," Keitaro greeted her in return, bowing a polite good morning. It was then, when he returned his gaze to the class that he noticed something that he had not noticed before: that the class before him was comprised of all girls. Girls that were now staring at him and their teacher interacting, some of the bolder ones even daring to whisper to their neighbors behind raised hands. Several even giggled after such an event, the noise bringing them back to their instructor's full attention.

"100 strikes for each of you!" She called out ruthlessly above the groans of protest. "Then you are done for the day."

"Hai!"

The swordswoman then turned back to Keitaro then offered him a hand up. "Come, Urashima, we can talk elsewhere. Perhaps you are hungry?"

"Yes, breakfast would be nice," Keitaro mumbled distractedly, giving the bunch of girls a final nervous glance before rising to his feet without the assistance of Motoko's offered hand. As he turned to walk out of the door ahead of her, the young woman tried to hide her hurt look and withdrew her hand hesitantly. With one final look at her students who were making their way through the final exercise diligently she exited and closed the door behind her, trusting that the senior students would continue the exercise without her direct supervision.

The journey to the dining area was a quiet one,neither really knowing what to say that would break the silence. Though Motoko occasionally cast a sidelong glance towards Keitaro along the way hopeing to find some inspiration to make polite conversation and break the uncomfortable silence, she found that he kept his eyes firmly glued to the ground as he walked, making anything approaching casual conversation nearly impossible.

At length, the pair arrived in the dining room and the young woman indicated that Keitaro seat himself at an empty spot while she went into the kitchen to fetch them some breakfast. In next to no time at all Motoko returned with two trays loaded similarly to the one she had brought him when he first woke up and set them on the table before seating herself directly across from the quiet young man. As with the walk to the room, the silence between them continued to be uncomfortable, at least from Keitaro's perspective. There were still many things that he wanted to ask her about yet he could never seem to find a natural point in their brief talks to politely bring them up. Yet despite his burning desire to find out the particulars of why he had this burnout thing in the first place, Keitaro also knew that to bring that subject up would dredge up what went on between him and Naru and despite how nice she was being to him currently, the young man knew without a doubt he would sign his own death warrant if he told the swordswoman about them sleeping together.

"You say you were intrigued by this morning's exercises?" Motoko asked quietly, bringing Keitaro quickly from his brooding thoughts. Apparently the young woman was just as uncomfortable as he was with the new situation they found themselves in and was apparently trying to pick a very comfortable subject for her. "Have you watched any kendo matches before?"

Keitaro managed a nod as he dipped his head down and took a sip of the miso soup in front of him. Despite the fact that he didn't know much about the martial art, he didn't mind speaking about it. Truthfully, anything would have been fine with him as long as it stayed away with him and Naru. "Yeah, in high school. I managed to see a few of our school team's practices as well as some of their bigger matches, but to tell you the truth I wasn't really interested in it at the time."

"You weren't?"

"No, I was a little too busy dreaming of what I would do when I finally made it into Tokyo University." Keitaro spared himself a bit of self-deprecating laughter. "I don't think I really paid much attention to anything, including my studies…which was probably why I always did so bad on the tests. It was kind of strange, really, I would spend hours at a time thinking about the day I would finally make it in. I would walk past all the other women there without blinking an eye because I knew that just on the other side of the room, the girl I made a promise with was waiting for me. We'd find each other once again and live happily ever after just as the legend said. Perhaps if I had spent a little more of that time paying attention to my teachers I would have done better the first time. But after that first failure…all I really had was my dreams to carry me on."

This new facet of the young man before her briefly took Motoko by surprise. She had always figured, based on her prejudice, that he had occupied himself in the same manner as most other high school boys she knew: flirt first, study later, and that that was why he had failed his exams. Though considering that she attended an all girls' high school in Tokyo admittedly made that list of known boys very short. To consider that he had been holding on to a dream such as the one he had for so long was…difficult to imagine maybe even laudable. Knowing what she did of herself, the kendoka did not think she would have been able to hold on to that dream for as long as he had.

"Though the little kendo I did see was pretty neat I guess. They were always so graceful. I even managed to recognize a little of what I remember in the drills I saw today. Are they something that you teach only here?"

Motoko blinked for a moment caught unaware by the sudden return to their previous subject about kendo. She had to hedge quickly in order to cover herself and think of an appropriate response to his question.

"No, what you saw today was more of an advanced form of the basics," Motoko replied; glad that they had returned back to something she was comfortable with. Kendo was something she was very familiar with, and the fact that they were speaking of it now did much to quell her uncomfortable feelings that had been beginning to grow around Keitaro, especially considering this new depth to his character she never knew existed. "In truth, our dojo is a lot like any of the others across the country. True, we have some secret techniques, but they are primarily kept between the family and the more serious practitioners and not taught to everybody who joins our dojo. Though as with any martial art we also have different philosophies on how the sword arts work, philosophies that make the Shinmei Ryu unique in all of Japan."

Despite himself, Keitaro muttered something about him being quite familiar with a few of those 'secret techniques' and the young woman felt a bit of heat in her face at that fact. Her guilt over some of those dispensed techniques had been a secret she had held on to for a short while now. Though her mind still stubbornly held onto the idea that he occasionally deserved those punishments. Fortunately, she managed to hide her embarrassment in her rice bowl as she took a few bites. They lapsed into silence once more as they ate, until Keitaro took his turn to break the silence between them.

"Do you think you could teach me a little?" He asked hesitantly, wondering what her answer would be. Truth be told, he really thought he could use the exercise and he was beginning to miss Seta's instruction in the Chinese martial arts not to mention they would be a welcome distraction to his other problems. "I know that I probably will be a slow learner, but I guess I was so intrigued by the drills today that I couldn't held but be a little curious."

"You…you want me to teach you?" Motoko asked slowly, stunned. Where in the world had this come from? He had never shown an interest in the sword arts before…why would he suddenly show one now? Though strangely enough, the more she considered the idea the more it appealed to her. Here was a way in which she could spend time with him and work on being kinder to him, yet still stay within comfortable bounds.

"Um, yes?" Keitaro answered, unsure of himself now more than ever. Idly, he wondered if he had insulted her by asking, as if teaching him anything was beyond her. Motoko's stunned look didn't take too long to disappear, though, and he was soon reassured to see a shy smile spread across her face.

"I would be honored."

**(End Chapter 1)**


	6. Part 2, Chapter 2

_**Standard disclaimers apply, author's note at the end.**_

**The Wisdom of Snow **

**Part 2, Chapter 2**

**Author: Garasu**

"Keep your guard up!"

WHACK

"Ouch!"

Keitaro vigorously rubbed the spot where Motoko's shinai hit, hoping to take away the sting as quickly as possible. Though they had been practicing for a few hours, it had felt like way more than that to the young man. His muscles positively ached and the hands that had been holding his own shinai were beginning to cramp from the grip he held. While he rested he stole a quick glance at the young woman he was practicing with and was unsurprised to find her barely breaking a sweat. After all, to her mastery he must seem like an uncoordinated fool.

"You did well that time," Motoko said, once she caught him staring at her. She could sense that he needed a break just by looking at his physical condition and was more than willing to let the young man rest. "Though it seems you have trouble keeping that side closed to attack. If you do not find some way of fixing it, you will suffer."

"As if I haven't suffered enough," Keitaro muttered, still rubbing the sore spot. She had hit him rather hard that time. But he could not fault himself for his suffering, he did ask for these lessons after all. Though after nearly two weeks of these private sessions almost every day he couldn't really say if he was improving much…though Motoko did praise him quite often about his progress.

Come to think of it, the young swordswoman had been extremely kind these past few weeks in regards to his accidents. She hadn't even hit him once, which was beginning to make him worry. Was she treating him better because of his burnout?

Such thoughts had been plaguing Keitaro more and more as time wore on and he got better and better. It was getting rather disturbing when thoughts about Naru would make his heart literally ache, even when he was with Motoko he could not help but think about the young woman who broke his heart.

_Or was that broke my mind?_ Keitaro wondered, thinking about the burnout that he had suffered shortly after his girlfriend's letter. _Whatever it was, I wish I could just speak with her about it. I am sure that we could work something out. I could make her realize that she was wrong._

"Keitaro?"

Keitaro blinked and looked up at Motoko, who was staring at him with a quizzical expression on her face. The young man had the presence of mind to blush as soon as he realized that he was doing it again…he was thinking of Naru when he and Motoko happened to be alone.

_Great. Good going, idiot._ He admonished himself. _And what's up with her calling me 'Keitaro' all of a sudden as well. Wasn't it always 'Urashima' before this?_

The young Tokyo University student heaved a great sigh and looked at his sparring partner for a moment.

"You know…I'm suddenly not feeling too well. Would you mind if we call it a day and I go use the bath?" He asked a moment later, trying not to let his exhaustion leak into his voice…though the type of exhaustion he was feeling the most at this time had nothing to do with physical exercise.

Motoko hesitated for a few moments, unsure of what to say. She had seen his far away expression and knew that his thoughts had been wandering to things other than kendo. She really didn't know if she should ask about his thoughts or not. Finally, though, she settled on merely letting him go.

"Yes, perhaps a bath would be good. Will I see you for dinner?"

Keitaro nodded politely to her question. "Yes, I shouldn't be too long. Until then." As he turned to go, he failed to notice Motoko's gaze following him or her soft, frustrated sigh.

As soon as he was outside of the training hall, Keitaro let his shoulders drop forward and heaved a great sigh himself. Why was he finding this so difficult? Sure, he had not had much opportunities in the past to spend with the young woman who had helped him so much in the past two weeks, but the relatively few times he had done so there never seemed to be this much tension around them. Was this a part of his hang-up with Naru perhaps? But why would his troubles with his girlfriend place such a burden on the relationship between himself and Motoko?

The young man shook his head and tried to clear all thoughts from it. Lately, however, clearing his head had been incredibly difficult – there was just so much to think about these days. As he reached his room and gathered up his bathing things, Keitaro was beginning to feel that no matter how long he soaked it would not cure what ailed him this time around.

Meanwhile, after she was sure that her sparring partner was gone, Motoko finally released her frustrations with everything that had been going on in a violent swipe at the air with her shinai. Things had been going just…so wrong! The times she was with Keitaro he was distant and withdrawn, not really opening up to any of her conversation starters, even if she stayed towards neutral topics like school or current events. Couldn't he see that she was trying? Though she knew it wasn't healthy for her to release frustrations so visibly, the young swordswoman couldn't help but to take another swipe with her weapon. This time, though, she failed to realize that she had an audience.

"My, such sloppy technique."

Motoko started and turned quickly on her heels to face the slightly amused voice. Once she recognized the face of her observer, she immediately turned a very bright shade of red.

"I'm sorry, Sister. It was a shameful display I know," she replied humbly, trying furiously to wipe the rosy tint to her cheeks away, lest her older sister and idol find one more thing to needle her about.

"Yes, it was," Tsuruko agreed as she approached the blushing teen. "But I think I understand some of what you are going through at the moment."

Motoko's eyes widened slightly at that admission. What was she talking about? Once she got over her shock, she tried to vocalize her question but it only came out as a series of 'what's' and 'how's."

Tsuruko merely shook her head and smiled. "Do not trouble yourself over the issue too much. You must have known, however, that the battle to gain Keitaro's trust wouldn't come so easily. He has many things that are weighing on his mind at the moment."

The young woman's blush deepened momentarily and she dipped her head quickly to try and cover it. The truth was, that was exactly how she thought it was going to be. Just be nice to Keitaro and everything would go back to normal, right? But then…what exactly was normal for him, or normal between them?

_Not what he is currently._ She knew that much was the truth at least. Before he had gotten together with Naru and even while they were together, he had been an eternal optimist, always seeing the bright side in everything. If he ever got down it would normally last no longer than a few hours at most, then he would be right back to his usual self. Now it seemed as if Keitaro rarely smiled, and it was even rarer that he actually started a conversation with her.

Despite Motoko's best intentions to hide her face, though, her sister did notice the blush and especially her trying to cover it. In spite of herself, Tsuruko laughed a little bit, a soft melodious sound of amusement.

"You did, didn't you? You thought that by just being nice he would be willing to forgive everything and forget his troubles."

At her younger sister's cringe at having her own thoughts verbalized, Tsuruko softened her expression and closed the distance between her sister to rub gently on the young woman's shoulder.

"Heartbreak is never easy, Motoko, it takes time. His was a heart that was a lot harder to break, true, but break it did, and rather messily I would say. Things like this just can't be swept under the rug, and it is no shame in ever admitting to feeling that pain and showing it to the world."

"But I'm trying so hard to make things right again!" Motoko exclaimed, very much aware that she was near tears and her frustration was nearly making her voice crack.

"I know you are, and I think Keitaro does as well, deep down. But you must not let it upset you if progress is not as fast as you would want. Continue to teach him as wonderfully as you have and he will heal, and once he does I think we will have a fine edition to our rosters."

Motoko started at her sister's final assessment. In all truth, she had quietly begun to suspect that even without the Potential that had recently been released through the burnout he had showed a startling adeptness at learning the martial arts. But to be considered for addition to the Shinmei school rosters?

Tsuruko noticed her sister's surprise and laughed once again. "Do not be so surprised, Motoko. As his mind heals you will find that he will be quite adept at learning many things. Though it ultimately will be up to him what he chooses to do with that knowledge and how far he wishes to take his education. For now, I think, he is progressing quite well."

Turning a sudden sly expression towards her younger sister, Tsuruko couldn't help adding a barb as an opening. "Which is more than I can say for you. How about you show me that that sloppy technique earlier was truly a sign of a distracted mind and not a sign of your failure in training!"

"Sister!" Motoko raged right before she found herself on the defensive as Tsuruko took up her sword and attacked her younger sibling with a carefully aimed strike to the chest. Motoko immediately let her years of training take over and unsheathed her ever-preset Shisui in retaliation. Soon, the sounds of a full-fledged battle could be heard throughout the halls of the Shinmei School.

*_*

_Never thought I'd be back here so soon._ The young man found himself thinking as he surveyed the richly decorated office. He had been, as had been agreed upon by the pair, providing pictures of both Noriyasu's and Urashima's lives on a regular basis. While his services had been employed for quite some time, he rarely needed to actually travel to Torisuku's office; only when something very important happened did he make the trip. _Something like what went on recently,_ the photographer thought grimly, not at all comfortable with the way the business man could take the news.

Currently, the young man was waiting on his client to finish a phone call with every bit of patience he felt it necessary when in the presence of such an important employer. While his manners dictated that he should not listen in to others conversations, the investigator couldn't help but be fascinated with the short, stilted dialogue he was hearing and curiously wonder what it was really about.

"Yes."

"Yes."

"I agree, it is troublesome news, but none that was perhaps unexpected knowing his abilities," Torisuku said quietly in his lilting, educated speech pattern. He was gazing at nothing, in deep thought apparently - owing to his unfocused pupils - and taking in a blank section of the wall on the opposite side of him. Yet there was something in his demeanor that spoke of an underlying sense of disappointment and anger, despite his overall calm and relaxed appearance.

"No, you are to do nothing to save the situation. He has made his own bed and it is now time for him to lie in it. It will be interesting to see what comes of it," Torisuku continued idly after what the photographer assumed was a question, but then his eyes suddenly fell on the young man standing discreetly before him and his expression changed a trifle.

"I think I have had a change of heart. I am suddenly tired of him meddling in my business affairs. I wish for you to make sure he knows not to cross me ever again."

Torisuku listened quietly for another minute before nodding to himself at whatever the other person on the phone said. "Yes, that would be acceptable. Do not fail in this."

The phone call ended abruptly then, and within moments the photographer found the full weight of Torisuku's gaze upon him.

"What news do you have?" He asked quietly, making an unsubtle order to divulge everything the man knew with just a mere change in pitch.

"Urashima has moved, it seems," the young investigator said, clamping down on his nervousness at being under the direct gaze of the dangerous man before him and doing an admirable job of hiding his flinch.

The older man scrubbed his chin at the news, but didn't appear to be too upset with it. Though the young photographer hadn't told him the rest of the news yet, so he certainly wasn't out of the fire pit.

"To where?"

"Some temple in Kyoto. I tried to access it more closely but the priests there are incredibly sharp as they have turned me away at every opportunity." The man rubbed his neck in a clear sign of nervousness. Truth be told, the priests he met were more than sharp, they were downright uncanny with their abilities for ferreting out his hiding places and would always ask him to leave before he could do so much as take one picture. Even trying to find out the name of the temple was incredibly difficult for him, as it seemed all the locals referred to the grounds as only 'that place' and never a name.

At this news, Torisuku's expression transformed to one of open curiosity. "Where was this temple?" He asked after a moment of quiet contemplation.

"A little east and south of Kyoto, near Mt. Kisagi. roughly thirty direct kilometers from the city proper I suppose, but with the local roads quite a bit longer. The village around it was very small but I seem to recall a peculiar statue in the town center bearing the image of a female warrior of some sort, which was very strange.

At this news, the curiosity was instantly gone from the elder man's face and his eyes widened slightly in wonder. "Are you sure the warrior was female?" He asked suddenly, catching his employee off guard a moment, an odd bit of...something the young man could not identify in his voice.

"Yes, quite," the nervous photographer replied smartly. "There was no mistaking it." Though in his mind the reply was a lot different from the deferential tone he used aloud. Very_ attractive thing, she was too. Her figure was simply amazing and I find it hard to believe that the proportions were correct. Yeah, it was definitely a she._

"Interesting. It seems as if Urashima has some high friends, for I am sure that the Aoyama family does not admit strangers freely into their main training hall."

The photographer blinked confusedly at the name his employer mentioned, why did he feel as if he should know that name?

As if sensing the young man's confusing thoughts, Torisuku continued his earlier statement. "Yes, the Aoyama's, one of the most noble warrior lineages in all of Japan. Though no official records of their warrior clan status exists, they have served under the command of the Emperor since ancient times. You see…it is not men that they kill. No, the Aoyama's are and have always been special and are tasked with hunting a much more dangerous opponent. An opponent that does not show it's face often in these modern times, but frequently enough to still give the Aoyama family special consideration."

The older man sighed and his gaze once again took on the deep in thought expression he had worn earlier."Though the question remains how Urashima would come to know an Aoyama well enough to be admitted onto their grounds. Can you recall anything about his other companions at all?

To this question the young man instantly recalled a tall, traditionally dressed woman in the occasional presence of Urashima. She was about sixteen or seventeen in appearance perhaps, extremely tall for her age and held a certain athletic grace he had only seen elsewhere in elite athletes. He recalled that the first time he had seen the graceful young woman, he had not thought her to be very important as she avoided Urashima as if the boy was carrying some sort of infection disease, and likewise the Urashima kid kept well clear of the girl and her ever present sword as well. Now he regretted not digging a little deeper into the other tenants that Urashima had. Hopefully, the man before him would overlook his slight mistake.

"I seem to recall that occasionally a young woman that nearly always dressed in hakama and gi was with the boy. However, she didn't seem to be very happy with those few times based on the expression on her face. I assumed she was merely a tenant and not a friend of any sort," he said aloud for his clients benefit, trying to gauge the man's expression with this bit of news.

"Yes, that could probably be a student of the school. Was her hakama red?"

The young man nodded in the affirmative and he was met with a set, unreadable expression in relation to this news. "I want her name and her relation to the Urashima boy, obviously the circumstances between them have changed for her to have brought him to the Aoyama training hall. Do you still have the address of his girlfriend…the Narusakawa person?"

"Narusagawa," the young man corrected deferentially, but continued quickly, "and yes, I do. I have been watching her carefully as well. The couple seems to have had a fight or something as she has recently gone back to her home town and is living with her parents again."

Torisuku nodded. "Excellent, I wish to know it."

The photographer nodded in uneasy compliance, too used to his client and the business man's behaviors to ask why he needed the information. Truth be told, the investigator always found he was better off never knowing how his information was put to use, especially considering some of the connections that Torisuku was rumored to have.

"I will send it in my next package, sir. Is that all?" He asked politely, once his grisly thoughts finished racing through his head.

Torisuku nodded, eyes traveling back to the blank spot on the wall in front of him and his demeanor cooly dismissing the young man. Once he was clear of the building, only then did the employee think to take a deep cleansing breath. With his mind set, he walked off in the right direction to try and find the information his employer wished to know. Looks like he had some very special favors to call in.

*.*

Some hours after dinner, Keitaro suddenly awoke to find himself not in the same place that he had gone to sleep in. _Or at least, _he thought, taking in his surroundings once he had fumbled in the dark for a few minutes to put on his glasses, _not exactly the same place._

For the most part, the small room he was in was the same as his in the Aoyama compound, but it had its subtle difference as well. The most telling thing, was that the door that led outside to a small garden was on the opposite side of the room than he remembered. Also. the young man noticed that everything seemed strangely muted in this place, and though it was a minor difference, it was just enough for him to notice it when he was deliberately observing his surroundings. He couldn't quite explain it to himself, but if he had to try he would say that everything seemed…dull. The colors weren't as bright; the moonlight streaming through the thin paper doors was gray and lifeless though he knew that it was a full moon on a cloudless night.

Curiosity finally getting the better of him, Keitaro quietly pulled himself out of his bedcovers and padded over to the door that led outside. After only a brief hesitation he decided that he had nothing to lose and applied the necessary force to open the door. What he saw before him briefly struck him dumb. If the insides of his room put him into a slight awareness that something wasn't right, the outside view laid any doubt immediately to rest.

Whereas Kyoto had one step firmly entrenched in spring, this place – wherever it was- was knee deep in winter. Everything seemed to be coated in a fresh layer of newly fallen snow, as pure and innocent as anything Keitaro knew. The landscape was very obviously Japanese, of that much he was certain; as the snow seemed to cover a small rock garden and a stone path leading through it was left just uncovered. All the trees were carefully pruned and were precisely placed to achieve the maximum in visual beauty. That, combined with oddly muted moonlight he had noticed earlier, made everything take on a surreal beauty; one that he was not sure that could be found even in the most carefully tended temples of the ancient capital city.

When Keitaro finally forced himself from his dumbstruck gaze he noticed that he wasn't alone in this place either, for a very familiar feminine figure could now be seen sitting upon one of the larger rocks situated in the middle of the Zen garden. The young man blinked a few times to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him before he finally realized that what he was seeing was real.

"Yuki?" He croaked, not at all liking the strange quality of his voice. The young woman erased any doubt that he had that it was his young friend when she turned her head to look at him when she heard her name and gave the young archeologist a look of surprised wonderment.

"Keitaro?" She asked, and though her voice was just above a whisper, Keitaro could hear every syllable as if she were standing next to him. Then to his surprise, he noticed in the next second that it took for him to blink, that she was standing right in front of him. "How did you get here?"

Unsure of just what exactly to say, Keitaro merely shrugged his shoulders numbly. He wasn't even sure where 'here' was, much less how he managed to find himself so far away from his bed in Motoko's home. At his reply, Yuki shook her head and gave him a wan smile.

"I suppose it doesn't matter," she said after a while. "Would you like to sit?"

At the young man's bewildered nod, the pair sat upon the wooden deck and Keitaro began to gaze around at the landscape before him once again, completely unaware of the closeness his companion had chosen to initiate as she folded her legs elegantly a few moments after he did. Soon enough, though, he finally managed to find his voice once again and he was at least pleased to note that it was beginning to sound a little better.

"Where exactly is 'here'?" He asked, his voice, while better than the croak he managed earlier, still was heavy with wonderment and surprise.

"This is my home," Yuki answered mysteriously, not exactly answering his question. The silver haired girl then slid her arms though his own limp ones and angled her head onto his shoulders. "And I'm very glad that you are here, though I do not know why."

"This is your home?" Keitaro asked wondrously, indicating with his head the strange beauty of the world around them. "This is where you go to when you leave in the spring? I thought you said it was overseas? This looks very Japanese to me."

Though Keitaro didn't notice, distracted as he was, Yuki blushed a light shade of crimson at his questions. "Well, it sort of is overseas. Just not exactly the kind of sea that you probably thought."

The young man summed up his confusion about as eloquently as he possibly could given the circumstances. "Hunh?"

At this, his friend sighed and seemed to bury her head even deeper into his shoulder, a move that finally made the oblivious young man become aware of the physical attention he was receiving. Though the affection was something that he had become used to receiving from the girl when he was around her, his new found phobia seemed to be making itself very known in the nervous ticking of his opposite hand and the cold sweat that began to snake its way down his back. He realized at that moment that he had also completely missed what his friend mumbled into his shoulder and had to ask her to repeat her answer a little more loudly.

"I said," Yuki repeated, looking up from her position to meet Keitaro's eyes in the process, "that you're in the spirit world."

Keitaro blinked, caught momentarily off guard by the simple reply. "Th-the spirit world?" He asked, uncertain if he had heard her correctly. Then his mind ran in a completely different direction, "I'm not dead, am I?"

Yuki giggled, covering her mouth with a small, delicate hand in her mirth. "No, silly. You're not dead. It's not that kind of spirit world. Rather, this is the place where the eternal spirits, oni and other spectral beings live."

"Oni?" The young man squeaked, and looked around frantically as if expecting a creature out of a young boy's nightmares to appear any moment.

Yuki merely shook her head, and firmly grasped Keitaro's head to stop it from trying to twist itself off his own neck and looked him in the eyes. "Not here, Keitaro…but elsewhere on this plane, yes, they have a home here when they are not being summoned to the earth. This area is my home, a place where no one but myself can enter."

Keitaro nervously withdrew his head from the winter spirit's hands and gave her a quizzical expression. "But I'm here."

"Yes, you are here," she answered. " A fact that I am still trying to grasp. By all laws, you should not be able to access this plane much less my own home." Her silver-gray eyes went distant for a moment, staring into the dark horizon. "Perhaps it is a side-affect to our bond?"

Keitaro, ever more confused by his friend's replies merely gave her a look that invited her to explain herself.

When she noticed Keitaro's look, Yuki blushed slightly, realizing that she was thinking out loud. "I am bonded to you, you see. Well perhaps not to you specifically but all descendents of the direct Urashima line. I protect both your father and your grandmother in much the same manner as I do for you. It's part of the reason why you and your bloodline are so resilient, seemingly almost immortal. I am spiritually bound as a protective entity to watch over those of the Urashima blood."

Now it was Keitaro's turn to look off into the distance, and watch the tiny, delicate snowflakes fall from the clear blue-gray sky. It made sense, he finally realized. It certainly was a perfectly suitable explanation for his semi-immortal constitution. But if that was the case, then how and why were they bound in the first place? As far as he was a aware, this was not a common thing among humans.

With a preternatural understanding of where Keitaro's mind was wandering, Yuki began to explain and answer the questions racing through the young man's mind.

"It all started with your many times great grandfather just before the Sengoku era. He was a wanderer, but known for his skill with the sword. As such, he was frequently hired by many of the local lords and underlords for protecting their goods from bandits when it came time to ship them across the fields of Japan. He, like yourself, was also named Keitaro and except for your glasses and several years of youth you look exactly like him. In fact, I strongly suspect you may be his reincarnation."

"But there was one thing that Keitaro did not let anyone know, something that would have earned him instant death from any common lord who found out that he was also gifted with magic. It was not the type of magic I'm sure you think of when you hear the word…rather it was mostly used for healing, protection, and summonings. There were others like him, of course, as it was actually a fairly common gift at the time; it still is today, though only a handful of people alive could recognize and train a youth. Sadly those people generally choose to live a solitary life and rarely choose an apprentice to carry on their knowledge. Back in the time of your ancestor, naturally, learning to use that gift was conducted with the utmost secrecy."

"Like any gift there were of course people who abused it. Keitaro, I'm proud to say, was not one of them. He was very kind and just, using his powers only to protect himself and those he loved. But inevitably, he was discovered and was forced to flee certain death. I found him as he was wandering alone in the wilderness of the far northern territories. Curious as to why a human would be so far north I revealed myself to him and followed him for some time. I had not spoken with a human in so long that I was overflowing with curiosity and he answered every one of my questions, despite the nervousness I'm sure he felt being around one of my kind. Though it was reckless of me, in time I began to love him and to crave his friendship and to be with him always. After several months of being together I finally offered him a deal. That I would bind my magical protections to his bloodline, something that has never been done by one of my kind. In exchange, I could stay with him and his kin and protect them in the same manner that I now protected him. He didn't accept immediately and soon he returned to society once the lord that he had fled from died."

Yuki shook her head sadly and a small sigh escaped her lips as she snuggled closer to Keitaro, then continued her tale.

"I didn't hear from him for many years, and I was beginning to think that he had forgotten about me. I couldn't follow him into civilization as too many could have recognized me for what I was, and further as a winter spirit I am bound by my nature to only be able to manifest on the earth plane during the winter months. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he summoned me. By that time, Keitaro's was the only call I would heed. When I appeared I saw a man who had aged physically but his eyes and his soul were still the same. It was that very same evening that I was introduced to his newborn son and immediately I could tell that his gift was passed on. He accepted my offer that night, his love for his family and his desire to protect them overcoming any unease in forming a permanent pact with one of my kind. Since then I have protected his bloodline, but never have I encountered in one of his descendants the exact same qualities and traits that made me fall in love with my Keitaro...until you."

Keitaro let a slow breath out, trying to comprehend the magnitude of what his friend had just told him. When it came to Yuki, apparently, nothing was coincidence; their meeting, their friendship, nothing. But despite that, he felt he could never turn her away. The guilt he had felt after their first fight had weighed heavily upon him following their weeks of separation. Yet he could not figure out what he should do about that. Here she was confessing that she was all but in love with him, something that Naru had always had a hard time with. But the nagging fact remained that she was but a winter spirit, destined to spend nine months of the year here in this plane. How could he possibly reply to what she had said?

Sensing Keitaro's confusion in the tenseness of his body, Yuki held on more tightly, determined to not let him go until she had said everything.

"I know that there is nothing that can be done about this, Keitaro. You are a human, I, a spirit. There is nothing I can give that would even remotely begin to come close to what you need or want and I have had many years to accept that. I want you to be happy, truly and totally."

"But Naru and I…" the young man started but was interrupted immediately with a delicate hand over his lips.

"Just because she didn't work out, doesn't mean there won't be others." Yuki whispered tenderly.

"But I think we could work, if I just get over whatever I did that made her angry," Keitaro tried, his frustrations with his girlfriend and their situation coming out.

Yuki sighed and closed her eyes. "Sometimes, Keitaro, things just aren't meant to be. There was nothing that you did. Naru has things that she needs to work out herself and pressuring her into those issues will only make it worse for you."

"But…"

"No buts, Keitaro. All that is needed is time. But don't hold on to your feelings obsessively. Try and be happy without depending on future events. Just live for the day and accept the things that come. I think you will be pleasantly surprised with what could happen. If it's meant to be, it will happen without fail, I promise."

Keitaro hung his head, but he managed to mumble that he would try before he did, making the winter spirit smile with hope, a smile that soon change into a mischievous one.

"Good, and I think your first lesson should be to enjoy the fact that we are here, alone, and that no one can bother us until you need to leave."

Keitaro's head shot up with a startled expression on his face but all he was able to get out between his lips was a muttered "wh…" before his mouth was otherwise engaged with a pair of the softest lips he had ever kissed. After a brief struggle to separate himself in which Yuki did not let him go but merely kissed him deeper, he felt a wave of something pass through him. Suddenly, his irrational and newfound fears of women, including the one currently giving him the kiss of his life, started to disappear slowly and be replaced with a subtle heat, a sense of righteousness and love. Soon he relaxed fully into his friend's embrace and closed his eyes, enjoying the sensations overwhelming him.

*-*

Keitaro woke with a start, and looked around the room with short, wild glances. He was back in his own bed at the Aoyama Dojo in Kyoto, apparently in the spirit world no longer. Once he gained control of himself, he lifted the tips of his fingers and briefly touched his lips. The fading memory of something momentous happening, but he couldn't quite grasp enough of it to become solid within his mind.

"Was it a dream?" He asked himself quietly. Further thoughts on the subject, however, were denied to him as a gentle knocking on his door interrupted his ruminations.

"Yes? Come in."

"Keitaro?

Keitaro was surprised to find Motoko on the other side of the door, but then again, judging by the light streaming through the thin paper doors, it must have been somewhere close to midmorning. As the young woman hesitantly entered his room, he took note of her nervous, hunched at the shoulders posture. Something was apparently bothering her.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but when you did not come to morning practice as you have been, I began to worry..." Motoko trailed off then, wondering if she could possibly sound less sure of herself than at that moment. Things had been decidedly tense between her and Keitaro recently, as if they ever were normal, but it seemed more so in the last few days than than ever before.

Keitaro, for his part, looked genuinely apologetic, placing a hand over his face an rubbing it softly to clear the last bit of grogginess from his eyes, then gave the young kendoka a halfhearted smile.

"I'm sorry, Motoko. I didn't mean to make you worry, but I guess my body just needed the rest wether I wanted it to or not."

"I suppose that is to be expected," Motoko commented, noticing the dark rings under Keitaro's eyes, and the general sense of fatigue around him and knowing there was more to it than he was telling. She hesitated for a moment, unsure wether to bring it up or not, before deciding on a safer route. "I was just on my way to the kitchens to get something to eat, would you like to join me?"

The young man's smile was a little warmer than the last one as he nodded his head.

"I would like that," he replied, then colored in embarrassment as a loud gurgling sound from his stomach chose that time to make itself heard and effectively break the serious mood.

"Oh man," Keitaro hung his head in shame, while Motoko tried not to laugh and admirably covered her smirk. "Just give me some time to freshen up?'

"Of course, I'll be waiting."

The swordswoman bowed politely before stepping backwards out of the threshold. Once she was clear of the door, she gave Keitaro one last furtive glance before she turned and disappeared towards the dining area.

Once Motoko was clear, Keitaro dragged his weary body from the nice warm covers and quickly folded the futon up and stored it properly. He then made his way across the hall to the bathroom, glad in that instant it was his alone. The young man sighed as he caught a glance of himself in the mirror just then and paused for a moment to regard his reflection.

It didn't seem like anything was terribly out of place, though he could now see that his excuse to Motoko about needing rest was stretched a bit by the dark bags under his eyes. _Nothing's physically changed, so why do I feel so different?_ He asked himself, trying to find some small thing, some reason why he felt like something important happened that he had forgotten.

Suddenly, a dizzy feeling swept over him and the young man had to grasp at the counter under his palms to keep upright and close his eyes fast to keep the nauseous feeling from affecting his stomach. After a few moments, when he felt like he could keep on his feet without losing his last meal, he opened them once again to find the scenery changed. Keitaro panicked for a moment before he finally recognized the place as the spirit world, the place he talked with Yuki last night.

_So it wasn't my imagination? _He thought, looking all around the now familiar, muted place. _Am I dreaming again? How could that be? I don't remember falling asleep._ The panicked feeling rose once again within him as thought after thought rolled around in his head, trying to figure some logical way he could be back in the spirit world again. The last he could remember, he was awake and staring at himself in the mirror. Grim thoughts of actually dying came to his mind before a noise startled out of his panic, or rather a voice. The voice of Keitaro himself.

"Wha?"

The young man looked around, before finding a corner he had previously missed. When he peeked around, he could quite clearly see himself and Yuki, just after she had finished kissing him.

_How could this be?_ He though frantically, trying to make no noise that would disturb...err himself and the snow spirit. But they payed him no mind, as if he wasn't even there. _Could this be a memory, then? __Am I remembering my dream?_ A suddenly intuition of that being correct, made Keitaro throw caution to the wind and fully reveal himself around the corner. As he thought, the couple did not see him, even though he was now in Yuki's direct line of vision. With that being the best answer for why he was here, Keitaro settled into his memory and watched as the rest of his dream played out.

Once Yuki broke away from him and Keitaro suddenly came back to himself from the wonderfully warm sensation he had had while his lips were pressed against the petite young woman's lips and he scooted away from her in confusion. Yuki, however, did not allow him to get very far and clung to him with supernatural strength until he began to calm down once again.

"Don't, Kei, don't say or do anything. I have wanted to do that for so long, yet with you and Naru I always felt that it was the wrong time. Don't take this moment away from me." With that, the snow spirit closed her eyes and bridged the distance between their faces once again, sealing her lips to his.

This time, Keitaro was prepared for the feeling or her lips against his, and relaxed immediately into his friend's embrace, though his brain begged him to make sense of all this. Fortunately for him, his heart intervened and let the young woman express her affection. There would be time for explanation later, he told himself.

After what seemed an eternity, Yuki finally separated herself from him, his lips still tingling with the feel of her tongue, and pressed her forehead against his. Her eyes were still closed and she wore the most amazing smile that Keitaro had ever seen - all at once soft, affectionate and loving.

"Thank you, Kei. I know that you are confused, and that an explanation is needed, and you will get one I promise. I can't thank you enough for giving me that small gift, however unconscious it was, and it felt better than I could have possibly imagined.

The young man blushed crimson at the praise his friend was giving him, and tried to play it down, mumbling something unintelligible and surely self effacing but was interrupted.

"No, Kei. Don't pass it off. I want you to know how much you mean to me, even if I can't love you the way I want, and have that love returned. You are still the kindest most forgiving person I have ever met, and that, considering my age, is saying something. Those people at Hinata, I wish they knew what they had in you. I suspect one does, and another is coming around but for the others..." Yuki sighed and let the rest of her sentence fall into silence.

Keitaro separated himself from his friend then, the unexpected mention of the Hinata girls bringing back painful memories of Naru. He idly wondered which of the girls the snow spirit was talking about, surely one of them had to be his girlfriend.

Upon seeing his confusion, Yuki explained further.

"The young one, Shinobu, of all the girls there she looks up to you the most. She adores you, you know."

Keitaro looked down at the ground and his blush deepened, having sort of known that the youngest of his tenants had feelings for him in that regard he just never quite knew what to do with them, so held them at arm's length afraid of doing or saying something wrong.

"The other," Yuki continued, ignoring the young man's reaction to her statements, "is not someone you might have thought of."

"Hunh?" Keitaro asked, confused. "Why would I not think Naru would care about me?"

Yuki shook her head sadly. "It's not Naru, though she might have suspected something, she has her own issues she needs to work out before she can love anyone fully. I had hoped that you would be the one that would help with that, for your own sake as well as hers. It seems, however, that she's more stubborn than I thought, and before you say anything that is not your fault Kei."

"But who could it be then?" Keitaro wondered out loud. "Mitsune is fun, but she still thinks of me as just another walking, talking wallet. Su, I don't even want to go there. That only leaves Motoko, and though she's being strangely nice to me lately, I know she hates me for every accident I've ever caused. As soon as I get better I bet we'll go back to normal, me tripping and pulling her pants down and she, sending me flying with one of her special techniques."

The way that Yuki was looking at him then, made Keitaro suddenly and nervouslysuspect that the tall swordswoman was exactly whom she was referring to. It was a thought he soon vehemently denied.

"No way it could be her! She hates me, I know it. How could she not?"

But Keitaro was once again shushed with a delicate digit over his mouth.

"Talk to her, Keitaro. As close as I am to you I can feel your confusion about her treating you so nicely. I know you want to ask her about it, but are afraid of reprisal. But what I am telling you is the truth, all you have to do is find the courage to ask her. I'm certain she's just as nervous and confused as you are, and is sorting things out herself as well. But if asked, I just know she will find the courage to talk openly about it. She is a very strong person."

Keitaro looked uncomfortable for a moment, trying to come up with some sort of excuse as to why his friend was wrong, but thinking back about the things he admired most about the the young kendoka, and in fact had always admired about her and he knew that his friend could possibly be right. Especially considering the amount of time they had recently been spending together in training, it had only served to increase his quiet respect for the young woman.

Seeing the dawn of understanding cross the young man's face, Yuki smiled and hugged him to her.

"I know your heart was hurt, there is nothing you can do about that but move on and trust that if something is meant to happen, it will. I've tried to heal as much as I can the physical side of things, but you must decide to carry on alone. Only you can make the decision to move forward. I know that things will work out. I of course, will always help with anything you need, but I also think you should look to those around you as well, Kei. You might just be surprised at the happiness you can find."

Keitaro looked at his hands then,the beginning of Yuki's statement repeating in his mind and causing him to wonder about the wave that had passed through him while Yuki was kissing him..

"Is that why I was so nervous around women all of a sudden? Well more nervous than before anyway? I just felt like something was wrong, as if I was looking at them differently than I had before, but it's gone now. Was that something that came because of Naru? Is that also the healing you referred to?"

Yuki gave him another affectionate smile, and pulled him back to her back so that she could kiss him gently once more, a soft, chaste kiss unlike the passionate, loving ones earlier. Then she nodded her head to answer his question.

"Yes, your heart was broken. It was only natural that you would come away from that experience different. I know you have always been shy around women, but after Naru's letter and your subsequent brunout you could say that that shyness was magnified into genuine fear. I have healed that for you, but I could not take away what was always there. Only time and experience can fix that." She looked into the distance suddenly, then back to her friend.

"I think it is time for you to wake up now, Kei. I hope you will remember this conversation and use it. Remember that happiness can be found anywhere, and not just in the dreams of the future. Take it while you can. I will always be here for you, as I always have been." She kissed him one last time then, as he slowly faded from her home.

As soon as the dream Keitaro faded from view, the one watching suddenly felt dizzy again and he closed his eyes once again to contain his stomach. Once he opened his eyes, he found himself back in the bathroom, the mirror and sink as he had left I before. But someone was now pounding on the door, asking him if he was alright.

Wondering why the voice sounded like Motoko, Keitaro opened the door and was surprised to find the girl before him, a worried expression on her face.

"Motoko? What are you doing here? I though I was going to meet you in the dining hall. It hasn't been too long has it?" Keitaro suddenly worried that he has been stuck in his memories for hours, though the shake of the young woman's head assured him that he hadn't. But what she had to say next made his blood go cold.

"I'm sorry, but as soon as you get ready we must go back to Hinata. I was just informed by someone that Haruka called. It seems that Seta has been injured, and is in the hospital near the Mol-Mol capital."

**End Chapter 2**

**Author's End Notes: **_Wow, has it really been 4 years since I last updated this? I can't believe it. I hope there is still someone out there who hasn't given up on me, but I understand that it would happen. I'm sorry that most will probably have to go back and read the story again, just to understand what's going on. All I can say is that I hope it's not another 4 years until the next update. This is a tipping point in Motoko's and Keitaro's relationship and it had to be done correctly, though I'm still not sure that it's right. From here on out, a sort of friendship will begin, as soon as Keitaro gets over himself and finally talks to Motoko (pretty much the lead in for chapter 3, actually). Their friendship will grow, though I assure you Naru has more to play in this piece as well. He's not over her yet, and will not be over her for a long time and I plan some very rocky moments for the little love triangle brewing, but he will come to an understanding soon and from their we shall see him grow. I just hope I can make it beleiveable. Sorry this is a cliffy, I know with my latest posting schedule, it's not good, but considering I've had a good bout of inspiration, it's a calculated risk that Chapter 3 will be out a lot sooner._

_In regards to this chapter, I'd really like to thank all of those who have reviewed thus far. I was recently going through them and the thoughts and comments were a principle part in what inspired me to come back to this story and try to tenaciously finish it. The other big reason is the wonderful stories that continue to be written about Love Hina, despite the fact that the last book has been published for quite a long time now. I continue to read them and enjoy them, finding inspiration in the creative works out there. _

_One last note before I leave, this story has continued to be only reviewed by myself before posting. Since my posting schedule has been so slow, I simply can't find the fairness in having a beta reader (though someone to kick my butt would have been nice). As such, spelling and grammar is good, thanks to spell check, but if there is any concerns about where this story is going or where it has been, let me know and I will try and address them as best as I can. Thank you for reading, and until next time..._

_--Garasu_


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